DAPA hosted the International Conference on Anti-Corruption in Defense Acquisition 2017

Public-private-army join together to reaffirm commitment to anti-corruption

November 30, 2017

Defense Acquisition Program Administration

The Republic of Korea

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) held the “International Conference on Anti-Corruption in Defense Acquisition 2017” on November 30 at the MND Convention Center.

At the conference titled "Establishment of internal control system for the integrity ecosystem of defense business", anti-corruption experts from home and abroad met and discussed measures to prevent corruption in defence acquisition. Over 300 participants joined the conference, including DAPA Minister Jei-guk Jeon, ACRC Chairperson Pak Un Jong, and experts from Transparency International (TI) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The DAPA planned to take the conference as an opportunity to gain an understanding of current anti-corruption trends in the international community, and hoped to encourage public, private, and military participation in the event so that all could share their understanding of anti-corruption and reaffirm their willingness towards integrity in the defence industry.

The conference kicked off with a keynote address by Katherine Dixon, programme director of Defence and Security of TI, which was followed by the presentations by Iohann Le Frapper, vice-chair of the ICC Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption, and Woo-seok Chae, president of the Korea Association of Defence Industry Studies (KADIS), who spoke of anti-corruption trends across the world and Korea’s anti-corruption measures within the defence industry.

Jong-kun Park, head of Siemens Korea’s compliance department, a company which was tainted by corruption in the past, spoke of the company’s successes toward turning over a new leaf, and gave suggestions for the future direction for Korea’s defense industry.

Jae-chun Lee, head of Hanwha Techwin’s compliance department, and Seung-yong Lee, head of LIG Nex1’s ethical management department, presented their respective companies’ compliance programs and proposed ways to instill a culture of compliance.

One DAPA inspector-general remarked, “This conference will be an opportunity to lead us beyond government-led anti-corruption policies, allow for active private sector participation in anti-corruption, create an ecosystem of integrity in defense acquisition, and strengthen our commitment to anti-corruption throughout the defense sector.”