(Corruption in Latin American and Its Implications on Korean Policy)

Abstract

Korean Abstract: 라틴아메리카에서 부패는 일시적인 문제가 아니라 늘 해결을 요구받아온 만성적인 사회 부조리이다. 본 연구는 최근 또다시 주목 받고 있는 라틴아메리카의 부패를 심도 깊게 고찰함으로써 라틴아메리카 연구의 심화뿐 아니라 한·라틴아메리카 관계에서 활용할 수 있는 시사점을 도출하고자 하였다. English Abstract: Corruption in Latin America is not a transient issue but a chronic social problem, which has been the major obstacle to the development of the region as well as a keyword to understand Latin American society. Therefore, understanding the structure of Latin American corruption and exploring the possibility of developing countermeasures against it is an important task for the public as well the private sector of Korea which seek to strengthen economic relations between Latin America and Korea. However, the existing literature on Latin American corruption in Korea did not include comprehensive comparative analyses of corruption in Latin America by solely focusing on case studies of individual country. Furthermore, it lacks analysis on anti-corruption measures recently implemented in various Latin American countries. In order to overcome limitations of existing literature on corruption in Latin America, this study explores corruption in six Latin American counties: Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile and Costa Rica. After looking into individual case in terms of its corruption and anti-corruption measures, we engaged in a comparative study of the six cases to achieve more thorough understanding of characteristics of Latin American corruption as well as possible implications for Korean society. In case of Mexico, this study reveals that corruption is deeply rooted in its political system, especially corporatist system which caused clientelistic relations between the state and the society. Such political system spreads into private sector where private companies opt to give political donation in exchange to right to participate in governmental projects. Ironically such political corruption worsened with the weakening of the state with neoliberalism in 1990s because of the emergence of new corruption network among government, drug cartel and private companies. The most important reason behind the corruption in Brazil is its election system where multiple parties compete and collaborate in order to obtain its political as well as economic goals. However, the Brazilian political system, which is heavily based on negotiations and cooperations, could foment an environment where political parties buy supports from others. In addition, relatively light punishment for politicians resulted in chronic corruption. Argentine case shows the weak political system which consists of overly strong presidentialism and weak judicial as well legislative system could cause the structure of corruption. Such concentration of power on presidential system brings about clientelism which politicians utilize public resources to pursue their private interest. Meanwhile, in Peru, inefficient as well as excessive governmental intervention and bureaucratic system create generally weak institutions in the public sector, which foments a favorable condition for corruption. Finally, this study looks into Costa Rica and Chile, which represent relatively less corrupt cases in Latin America. By analyzing the two countries, this study makes known the fact that institutionalized democracy as well as well-implemented anti-corruption measures are key to achieve a transparent society. According to this study, various Latin American countries implemented anti-corruption measures, which were introduced as an effort to comply to international treaty or a countermeasure to political scandals. Despite of detailed measures against corruption, most cases show that the intensity of anti-corruption measures does nos necessarily reduces corruption. This study offers several policy implications for Korea-Latin America relations. First of all, it offers detailed information of corruption in Latin America and its impact on business environment. In addition, this study recommends three types of governmental policies to enhance Korea-Latin America relations in terms of corruption. First, Korean government can actively engage in anti-corruption measures in Latin America by participating in international institutions and their treaties against corruption. Also Korean government could offer technological support such as e-Government to Latin American countries which try to reduce its corruption. Finally Korean government could support Latin American civil society which work hard to introduce more transparency in Latin American society by providing international development cooperation. By analyzing the corruption in Latin America, this study shed lights on the fact that tough anti-corruption measures do not automatically reduce corruption. Rather the democratic political system should exist as the basis to make anti-corruption measures work.