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.
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
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 4,407 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 117 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.819 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.933 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.839 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.819 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.551 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.739 (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.