Investigation on the Suspicious Public Officials for Corruptions

The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MGAHA) announced that it would reinforce the inspection on public officials to prevent the corruptions such as bribery, as the provincial elections are coming, and it would ask the prosecution and the police for investigation on any suspicions of corruption.

MGAHA said on 14th,"So far, only after the confirmation of the corruption cases, we have notified it to the police or prosecution and requested investigation. But we will notify and call for investigation as soon as we get any suspicion of corruption through the inspection from now on."

People, who are connected to the corruption cases such as personnel shift, bribery for a contract or preferential permissions and approvals, and alteration of city-planning to offer preference to a certain people, will be investigated.

MGAHA, furthermore, is planning to launch a `Special Inspection Team for Improving officials discipline` composed of about 30 people from inspection department of every cities and provinces. It will continue its inspection from December 17th till February 15th, 2002.

MGAHA, which started to collect information on the corruptions of the provincial governments from the beginning of this month, will ask for investigation primarily on the suspicious cases after close examination into about 20 suspicious cases in which MGAHA has already collected related information.

One of those corruption cases is the case of city A, which offered preference through the alteration of the city-planning. The city altered the usage of 25,000 m2 land from residential district to commercial area although 50 percent of the present commercial district of the city is not developed yet.

And city B is suspected that it gave permission to build grand wedding halls and restaurants even though construction is not permitted in the area, which is designated as a land readjustment district. City C also is suspected of preferentially permitting the facilities that cannot be constructed in the industrial district.

In county D, a company, whose owner is close to the head of the local government, received all kind of construction orders from the county Office and its affiliated companies. County E is suspected of bribery, for promoting a person out of blue.

Lee Hyun-Doo ruchi@donga.com