Legislative Corruption Score in South Korea
South Korea: Legislative Corruption Score was 0.509 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Legislative Corruption Score in South Korea, 1948–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, legislative corruption score in South Korea stood at 0.509. That is the highest value across all 78 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, legislative corruption score in South Korea peaked at 0.509 in 2004 and was at its lowest, -1.47, in 1961.
That places South Korea 63rd out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Legislative Corruption Score in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | -1.46 | — |
| 1949 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1950 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1951 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1952 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1953 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1954 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1955 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1956 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1957 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1958 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1959 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1960 | -1.07 | -26.9% |
| 1961 | -1.47 | +37.6% |
| 1962 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1963 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1964 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1965 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1966 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1967 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1968 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1969 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1970 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1971 | -1.47 | -0.0% |
| 1972 | -1.38 | -6.2% |
| 1973 | -1.38 | -0.0% |
| 1974 | -1.38 | -0.0% |
| 1975 | -1.38 | -0.0% |
| 1976 | -1.38 | -0.0% |
| 1977 | -1.38 | -0.0% |
| 1978 | -1.38 | -0.0% |
| 1979 | -1.38 | -0.0% |
| 1980 | -1.46 | +5.7% |
| 1981 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1982 | -1.46 | -0.0% |
| 1983 | -1.29 | -11.8% |
| 1984 | -1.29 | -0.0% |
| 1985 | -1.29 | -0.0% |
| 1986 | -1.29 | -0.0% |
| 1987 | -1.29 | -0.0% |
| 1988 | -0.617 | -52.1% |
| 1989 | -0.617 | -0.0% |
| 1990 | -0.617 | -0.0% |
| 1991 | -0.617 | -0.0% |
| 1992 | -0.617 | -0.0% |
| 1993 | -0.048 | -92.2% |
| 1994 | -0.186 | +287.5% |
| 1995 | -0.186 | -0.0% |
| 1996 | -0.01 | -94.6% |
| 1997 | -0.01 | -0.0% |
| 1998 | -0.01 | -0.0% |
| 1999 | -0.01 | -0.0% |
| 2000 | -0.01 | -0.0% |
| 2001 | -0.01 | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.127 | -1370.0% |
| 2003 | 0.445 | +250.4% |
| 2004 | 0.509 | +14.4% |
| 2005 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.509 | +0.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.509 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.22, 42% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.509 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.3625, 1.4× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | -1.46 | -1.46 | -1.46 | 2 |
| 1950s | -1.46 | -1.46 | -1.46 | 10 |
| 1960s | -1.43 | -1.47 | -1.07 | 10 |
| 1970s | -1.4 | -1.47 | -1.38 | 10 |
| 1980s | -1.2 | -1.46 | -0.617 | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.2311 | -0.617 | -0.01 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3606 | -0.01 | 0.509 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.509 | 0.509 | 0.509 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.509 | 0.509 | 0.509 | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More social development data for South Korea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 4,407 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 117 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 117 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is legislative corruption score in South Korea?
- Legislative corruption score in South Korea was 0.509 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest legislative corruption score recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.509 in 2004.
- What is the lowest legislative corruption score recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.47 in 1961.
- How does South Korea rank for legislative corruption score?
- South Korea ranks 63rd out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is legislative corruption score rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Legislative Corruption Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 78 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of the extent to which members of the legislature abuse their position for financial gain, such as bribes, government contracts, future employment, or stealing from the state. Higher scores mean less corruption. A score of 0 is approximately the average across all countries and years.