2018 Fair Player Club Summit & Pledge Ceremony

The Global Compact Network Korea hosted and Global Competitiveness Empowerment Forum organized “Fair Player Club Summit & Pledge Ceremony” on March 7th, at Grand Ballroom, Grand Hyatt. With over 300 representatives and specialists from government, state-owned enterprises, corporates, NPOs, civil society and academia, the Summit aimed to reflect the outcomes of Fair Player Club (FPC) over the past 3 years, and its efforts to strengthen anti-corruption in Korean business environment. Moreover, at the Summit, anti-corruption specialists from Korea and abroad analyzed anti-corruption in Korean corporations, while stakeholders gathered together to pledge building a fair business environment.

*Opening Remarks & Congratulatory Remarks from sponsoring organizations

The summit began with opening remarks from Mr. Dong-kurn Lee, President of Global Compact Network Korea. Following the opening address, H.E. Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations and current Honorary President of GCNK, Mr. In-ho Lee, Vice Minister of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), and Mr. Jon-kap Kim, Chairman & CEO of Siemens Ltd. Seoul gave congratulatory remarks.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Dong-kurn Lee noted that “many representatives from corporates and organizations have joined hands to make a business environment with transparency and integrity through FPC” and asked all attendees “to help continue building a fair market environment through collective action.”

H.E. Ban Ki-moon emphasized that “corruption is harmful to economy and national development”. He explained that “corruption destroys fair competition and deteriorates national image, resulting in decline of global competitiveness. If companies work transparently and ethically, profit increase and economic development will follow.” Moreover, he said that “anti-corruption is a movement to restore human’s dignity. Korea should not only foster a fair and just society, but also help the world become a more transparent, harmonic place.”

Mr. Lee in-ho, Vice Minister of the MOTIE, which, along with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission(ACRC), has sponsored FPC for three years, said that “as Korean companies have been showing outstanding economic growth, we expect them to be exemplary in compliance and ethics. The government will do its best to foster an environment where businesses can fulfill their sense of fair play.”

Mr. Jong-kap Kim, Chairman & CEO of Siemens Ltd. Seoul that has sponsored and supported FPC, expressed that he is “delighted to see that FPC has succeeded in delivering the message of creating clean, transparent business environment through all industries” and said that “Siemens will continue various activities to ensure anti-corruption and compliance in Korea.”

*Keynote Addresses by anti-corruption specialists in Korea and abroad

For the first Keynote Address, Ms. Un-jong Pak, Chairperson of the ACRC, illustrated that “ACRC is a committee responsible for integrity policies of our government, and is expanding legal and institutional framework in order to ensure that the government-wide anti-corruption efforts become applicable not only to the public sector, but also to the private sector, so that the sense of integrity is established throughout the whole society.

Lastly, Mr. Drago Kos, Chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery, clearly explained the reason why businesses must not be corrupt and the negative societal outcomes that come from corruption. He also added that “integrity is possible only when each individual, company and organization put in the best effort to accomplish it” and evaluated Korea as “a country with very high potential.”

*The Highlight of the event – Pledge Ceremony

Over the last three years, about 230 companies and organizations have signed to Fair Play Principles which signify commitments to fair and transparent business through FPC. Among 230 companies, the service sector(19%) comprised the largest percentage, followed by manufacturing(13%), electronic/communication(10%), and mechanical(9%). CEOs from major enterprises, SMEs, state-owned enterprises and organizations attended to publicly pledge their commitment during the ceremony.

*Summing up the 3-year journey: Fair Player Club Commemorative Video

See the video ▶ https://youtu.be/TJ1pzx6DF9w

At the “Fair Player Club Summit & Pledge Ceremony”, a commemorative video that sums up the progress and outcomes of FPC during its three-year project was also screened. The video showed the objective of FPC, which was established in May, 2015 to strengthen Korean companies’ compliance and ethics capacity and create transparent business/market environment. It also highlighted three goals that FPC has achieved: collaboration building, capacity building, and collective action.

FPC, which led the collaboration between government and private sector, has worked together with 7 industry associations, including Korea Medical Devices Industry Association and International Contractors Association of Korea in 2015, Seoul metropolitan government along with 6 municipal governments and regional chambers of commerce in 2016, and 7 foreign embassies and chambers of commerce including U.S., Europe and Asia in 2017 to host more specialized anti-corruption seminars based on each industry, region and country. FPC has hosted 21 seminars to help companies build capacity for anti-corruption; throughout the seminars, 1,100 people have attended, 19 specialists have shared their insights, while 28 companies have shared their best practices. Compliance packages, researched and published by GCNK, were particularly well-received by the attendees. Lastly, government, civil society, international organizations, academia and business cooperated to make ‘collective action’ possible. Fair Player Club’s accomplishments have also been introduced by the press and leading conferences worldwide.

*A channel for anti-corruption dialogue: Breakout Sessions

In the afternoon, to review the goals of FPC that has furthered anti-corruption culture throughout various companies and organizations, three breakout sessions were held with following topics: Global Anti-Corruption Trends and Response in Private Sectors, Collective Action, and Compliance & Ethics Management System for Anti-Corruption Risk Management.

Mr. Wan-keun Lee, Chairperson of Korea In-house Counsel Association, a partnering organization for Fair Player Club Summit & Pledge Ceremony, began “Session 1: Global Anti-Corruption Trends and Response in Private Sectors” with his Opening Remarks. Mr. Han-kyun Rho, Professor of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) presented on global anti-corruption law/regulatory trends and risk management, and Mr. Won-young kim, Director of the Anti-Solicitation Division in ACRC, explained the achievements and prospects of Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. Afterwards, Mr. Gwang-ho Seol, Director of Korea Investment & Securities, Ms. Hee-kyung Jeong, Director of Compliance & Legal Affairs Team at Hanwha Techwin, and Ms. Kum-sun Kim, Attorney of Corporate, External and Legal Affairs at Microsoft Korea Inc. introduced each of their companies’ efforts to prevent corruption risks and establish compliance system. For panel discussion, with Mr. Hyung-koo Moon, Professor of Korea University Business School, as the moderator, Mr. Sung-kyu Lee, Attorney of Kim & Chang Law Firm and Mr. Young-kyu Chang, Associate Professor at Sogang Business School participated as panels. All panels agreed that business compliance, which used to be considered as an ‘expense’, has gained more importance in business management for better risk management and sustainability and is now becoming an essential aspect of business.

“Session 2: Collective Action” began with Opening Remarks from Mr. Suk-bum Park, Secretary General of Global Compact Network Korea. Ms. Mirna Adjami, Project Manager of Anti-Corruption Collective Action at Basel Institute on Governance, attended as a presenter to define collective action and share best practices on collective action abroad. Presentations from FPC Project’s Partner Organizations included presenters Ms. Min-ah Cho, Director of Korea Medical Devices Industry Association, Mr. Ie-dong Lee, Team Manager of Seoul Metropolitan Government and Mr. David Markey, Head of Business Environment & Climate Diplomacy in British Embassy Seoul. During the panel discussion, with Ms. Ji-ae Sohn, Professor of the Ewha Womans University, as the moderator, Mr. Jong-keun Park, Chief Compliance Officer of Siemens Ltd. Seoul, Mr. Han-beom You, Executive Director of TI-Korea, and Mr. Jung-soo Kwak, Business Correspondent of Hankyoreh discussed the importance of multi-stakeholder collective action. The panels have shared the necessary conditions for collective action to succeed and introduced best practices of collective action in various countries. They have agreed that as exemplified in FPC, participation from different stakeholders is crucial, and that all participants of collective action should share and apply their perspectives as well.

In the last session, “Session 3: Compliance & Ethics Management System for Anti-Corruption Risk Management”, attendees had a chance to learn about the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FCPA. Mr. Ephraim Wernick, Assistant Chief of FCPA Unit in the Criminal Division of Fraud Section at U.S. Department of Justice, attended as a presenter to explain details of FCPA and highlight the importance of corruption risks and compliance and ethics management system. Mr. Cheon-hyun Lee, Director of Special Crime Research Division at Korean Institute of Criminology, presented current status and prospects of compliance and ethics management in Korea. Mr. Sung-ahn Kwon, Director of Compliance at The Prudential Life Insurance of Korea Ltd., shared the corporate practices of responding to FCPA. In the panel discussion with Mr. Steven Chon, Korea Leader of Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services at EY Han Young, as the moderator, Mr. Jai-wook Lee, Co-Chair of Compliance & Ethics Committee at AMCHAM (also a Senior Foreign Attorney at Yulchon LLC), Ms. Hee-seong Lim, Partner at Yoon & Yang LLC., and Mr. Young-sang Seo, Reporter of the Editorial Bureau at The Law Times attended as panels to discuss compliance and ethics management system in businesses.

*Special Lecture that illustrated the strict ethics management system in business, and Closing

After breakout sessions, Mr. Woo-sung Shin, CEO of the BASF in Korea, gave a special lecture. Introducing BASF’s strict Code of Conduct, Mr. Shin introduced many practices of the Code of Conduct that applies to all employees. Moreover, he explained BASF Korea’s social compact as a corporate citizen, and shared best practices on compliance and ethics management system.

For closing, Mr. Chew-kong Lum, Senior Executive Vice president/CFO of Siemens Ltd. and Mr. Suk-bum Park, Secretary General of Global Compact Network Korea gave their closing remarks. “Fair Player Club Summit & Pledge Ceremony” was an opportunity for all to review the 3 years of accomplishments by FPC that helped spread anti-corruption culture in Korea. Moreover, through breakout sessions, we analyzed Korean businesses’ anti-corruption environment with specialists, while business representatives gathered together to pledge their commitments to creating a fair business environment.

Fair Player Club, which began in March 2015, has come to an end in March 2018. However, the companies that have pledged their commitment is now beginning their journey. We hope to see more projects that carry out collective action based on public-private partnership. Lastly, we would like to thank Siemens Integrity Initiative, Siemens Ltd. Seoul, MOTIE, ACRC, Financial Services Commission, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs who have sponsored and supported this project for the last three years, and the companies who have pledged to contribute to spreading the message of anti-corruption.