Is Lee waging anticorruption campaign?

A series of irregularities among public office holders is drawing attention to whether the Lee Myung-bak administration would launch an all-out campaign to tighten the discipline of civil servants as it enters its fourth year.

President Lee emphasized in his New Year’s address Monday that the government “has so much to achieve this year,” reiterating his call on public officials to focus on work to lull fears of a lame duck situation.

Considering that corruption was often what turned Lee’s predecessors into a lame duck as early as the third year of their five-year tenure, it may be time for the Lee administration to roll up its sleeves to root out wrongdoings in public offices.

The Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday it is investigating a bribery scandal involving executives of state-funded companies, a day after the state auditor said it found dozens of public officials addicted to gambling.

Two executives of a state-funded company recently offered to resign amid suspicions that they accepted bribes from a contractor in exchange for giving multiple construction orders.

An executive of another state-funded firm embezzled company money by making his subordinate amass slush funds, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

A team in charge of inspecting ethics-code violations under the Prime Minister’s Office is investigating senior managers of two more state-funded companies over allegations of graft.

The Board of Audit and Inspection said Tuesday that between 30 to 40 public officials were found to be addicted gamblers who frequently went to the casino in Gangwon Province during weekdays.

One of them, a high-ranking official, went to the Kangwonland casino, the one casino in the country where Koreans can legally gamble, about 180 times in the past three years.

The state auditor is looking into whether the officials used bribes or embezzled money for gambling.

The government is expected to set out a variety of measures to prevent lapses in discipline and complacency among civil servants as this year is believed to be the best time to reap progress in state affairs.

“Public officials need to be encouraged to work harder this year as it is the only year (in President Lee’s tenure) without elections,” a government official said.

“The government will check on public office holders for possible neglect of duty while focusing on their political neutrality.”

Some believe the nomination of a former prosecutor Chung Tong-ki as BAI chairman last week may be related to the government’s renewed drive for stronger discipline.

President Lee reportedly rebuked concerns of becoming a lame duck in a recent meeting with his aides, saying that the government can concentrate on work this year as there are no elections.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)