Media: Freedom of speech and the press are constitutionally guaranteed in Korea. Freedom House 2010 reports that Korea's media are free and competitive. Newspapers are privately owned and regularly report on governmental policies and alleged official and corporate wrongdoing. Nonetheless, according to Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, research by the media on government activities is limited by the system of press clubs, which are attached to the various ministries. In practice, this means that critical media can be excluded from individual press clubs. In addition, the National Security Law (NSL) has led to a certain degree of self-censorship on the part of the media. Most newspapers and news stations have a conservative outlook on political affairs. The conservative tendency of the daily newspapers has been somewhat balanced in recent years by alternative online news and information resources, including the online newspaper, which receives its articles from 'citizen reporters'. According to the US Department of State 2010, the government imposes some restrictions on the access to the Internet, and it is also reported that e-mail and online chat rooms are monitored by the government. Korea is ranked 70th out of 196 countries in the Freedom House Freedom of the Press Index 2011, which also describes the media environment in Korea as 'partly free'. Additionally, Korea ranks 69th out of 178 countries according to Reporters Without Borders 2010.

Civil Society: Korea has a vibrant civil society. Civil society organisations (CSOs) have taken an active oversight role in monitoring and assessing the activities of both government and companies. Amid spreading public sentiment denouncing bribery and corruption, civic groups have become very vocal and achieved considerable progress by identifying supposedly 'corrupt' officials and working against their re-election, according to the US Department of State 2010. The progressive government that has ruled Korea since 2003 takes CSOs seriously and has made repeated attempts to incorporate their ideas into official policy, as reported by Bertelsmann Foundation 2010. Members of civil society have been given high-profile posts in the cabinet and in advisory commissions. According to Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, most CSOs focus on domestic issues. Global Integrity 2009 assesses Korean civil society organisations as 'very strong' and emphasises that the government does not create barriers to the organisation of new anti-corruption CSOs in practice. 

Transparency International Korea (TI Korea): Founded in 1999 by a coalition of CSOs, TI Korea aims at contributing to the construction of a non-corrupt society through its anti-corruption initiatives. TI Korea's main activities include research and development of anti-corruption policies and legislation, and introduction and implementation of a Citizen Ombudsman, as stated at the official website of the organisation. Since its establishment, TI Korea has been advocating different anti-corruption related activities. For example, TI Korea took the lead in bringing different actors in the society together to join the Korean Pact on Anti-Corruption and Transparency (K-PACT), which was formally established in 2005. Further, TI Korea succeeded in campaigning for the ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) by the Korean government in 2008. Currently TI Korea is focusing on implementation and monitoring of the UNCAC. Furthermore, in 2009, TI celebrated its 10 year anniversary by organising a campaign called ‘1% Movement’. It sought to mobilise the Korean population to join the anti-corruption movement. As a result, more than 2,700 people participated and more than USD 25,000 was raised. See more of TI Korea’s projects and activities here.