S. Korea rises to 30th in global corruption index

South Korea ranked 30th in the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, released last week by Transparency International, Seoul officials said Sunday.

It marks the country’s highest ranking since the index’s calculation method was revised in 2012.

Compared to 2023, the country ranked two spots higher, and its Corruption Perceptions Index score also increased to 64 out of 100, up from 63.

An official from South Korea's government agency Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission analyzed the results, saying, “While national-level efforts to prevent corruption have had a positive impact on integrity assessments, the rise of new corruption factors — such as cryptocurrency-related crime and political polarization — has negatively affected both domestic and international perceptions of corruption.”

A screenshot of South Korea's ranking on the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, as announced on the Transparency International website. (Transparency International)

The Korean anti-corruption agency official added that the ranking is based on surveys conducted through October 2024, so the declaration of martial law in December was not reflected in the results.

Among OECD member countries, South Korea’s ranking also improved, rising from 22nd to 21st.

In 2023, South Korea ranked 32nd in the global index, slipping one place from the previous year. That decline was the first in seven years since the implementation of an anti-graft law in 2016.

The Corruption Perceptions Index evaluates how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be, using data collected by governance and business experts, according to Transparency International. The rankings are released annually.