공무원의 윤리규범과 행동기준에 관한 연구 - 선물, 접대 및 이익수수의 한도를 중심으로 -

A Study on the Code of Ethics and Standards of Ethical Conduct for Public Servants. - With an Emphasis on the Acceptance Range of Gifts, Entertainment, and Other Benefits -

The purpose of this study is to make exploratory inquires into the acceptance range of gifts, entertainment, and other benefits for public servants. The code of ethics and its enforcement decrees are virtues and spiritual indices which they must held in exercising their public duties and discretionary power. However, they have not a binding force in themselves, but only advisable contents for public servants who are working for the public interest. Although our successive governments have stressed to internalize those virtues and spiritual indices stipulated on the code of ethics, any government has not succeeded to eradicate bureaucratic corruption. This is because the code of ethics founded on the level of ordinances does not have legal background, but also have a limit to internalize and implement. This study aims to suggest that the present Public Service Ethics Act be revised and reinforced by prescribing ethical contents in details with an emphasis on the acceptance range of gifts, entertainment, and other benefits for public servants. Advanced countries have long possessed considerable concrete Ethics in Government Acts separately and worked them very well. These are very convenient for public servants when they come across ethical dilemmas. This study examines the successful cases of United States of America, Singapore, and Hong Kong and makes an exploratory setting the proper level of acceptance in Korean public life. This study suggests to effectively change human being`s consciousness by way of legal or institutional devices for curing social irregularities accumulated in the culture of our life.