– The ACRC successfully concluded the 41st APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Experts Working Group (ACTWG) Plenary Meeting and the APEC High-Level Dialogue on Anti-Corruption Cooperation (AHDAC), held over three days from July 30 to August 1.

– The ACRC convened APEC’s first-ever High-Level Dialogue on Anti-Corruption Cooperation (AHDAC), bringing together ministerial- and vice-ministerial-level officials from member economies to share anti-corruption policies and discuss international cooperation.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan) announced the successful conclusion of the 41st APEC ACTWG Plenary Meeting and the APEC High-Level Dialogue on Anti-Corruption Cooperation (AHDAC), held at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from July 30 to August 1.

APEC member economies reached a broad consensus on the need to strengthen anti-corruption policies across the Asia-Pacific and held in-depth discussions on practical cooperation measures to put that consensus into practice.

On July 31, the inaugural AHDAC brought together ministerial- and vice-ministerial-level officials from major member economies—including the Republic of Korea and Japan—as well as senior representatives of international organizations such as the World Bank (WB). Through their keynote addresses, speakers underscored the importance of collective efforts to prevent corruption.

The speakers stressed that effectively preventing corruption requires multi-stakeholder cooperation—not only between the public and private sectors, but also with civil society and academia—and that such collaboration is essential to building a fair and trusted society.

They further reaffirmed that joint efforts to prevent corruption are a prerequisite for achieving the sustainable growth and shared prosperity pursued by APEC.

Following the keynote session, two days of expert panel discussions featured lively exchanges among APEC member economies, international organizations, private enterprises, civil society, and academia, centered on three main agenda items: ▴ Cooperation to Fight Cross-Border Corruption (Session 1); ▴ Engaging with Private Sector to Enhance Integrity (Session 2); ▴ Cooperation on Anti-Corruption Education and Training (Session 3).

Session 1 focused on joint response measures to transnational corruption offenses, including cooperation on mutual legal assistance, asset recovery, and digital forensics. Session 2—with participation from the OECD, the World Bank, and private-sector experts, including Oracle—introduced integrity management strategies leveraging ESG* and AI, as well as approaches to strengthen public-private partnerships.

* ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance): an evaluation framework that assesses corporate value by considering not only financial performance but also social and environmental activities.

In Session 2, Min Sungsim, Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau at the ACRC, emphasized the need to broaden the response beyond traditional concepts of corruption, such as bribery, to include improper solicitation, conflicts of interest, and abuse of power, and presented diverse cases of public-private cooperation for effective implementation.

In Session 3 (August 1), participants shared innovative strategies for cooperation in the education sector, including cases of international cooperation on anti-corruption education, integrity education for future generations, and the development of content for integrity education.

As a panelist in Session 3, Kim Se-shin, Director of the ACRC’s Anti-Corruption Training Institute, emphasized that relying solely on legal and institutional measures is insufficient to address the increasingly diverse and complex manifestations of corruption; raising ethical awareness among public officials and the general public and strengthening integrity capabilities are among the most fundamental means of prevention. He also introduced a range of educational activities targeting future generations.

Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan stated, “With this High-Level Dialogue, the cooperation framework in the Asia-Pacific to combat and prevent corruption has been further strengthened. As Korea’s lead anti-corruption agency, the ACRC will continue to do its utmost to build a clean Korea that earns the trust of both the Korean public and the international community.”