No Public Institution Has Been 'Truly Efficient' for 8 Years

2019 Public Institution Management Performance Evaluation Results

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] It has been revealed that no public institution in South Korea, including state-owned enterprises and quasi-governmental agencies, has received the 'Excellent (S)' grade in the annual management evaluation conducted by the government for eight consecutive years since 2011.

According to the '2019 Public Institution Management Performance Evaluation Results and Follow-up Measures' deliberated and approved by the Public Institution Management Committee held by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 19th, an evaluation team composed of private experts conducted document reviews and on-site inspections of 129 state-owned enterprises and quasi-governmental agencies, but no public institution qualified for the Excellent grade. The Excellent grade has not been awarded to any institution since Korea Airports Corporation in 2011, marking eight consecutive years without any recipient.

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, also pointed out that not a single domestic public institution received the highest grade. Before the committee meeting, he stated, "The evaluation grades for each institution, rated on a six-grade scale, showed a distribution similar to previous years," adding, "There were no institutions with the Excellent grade, and one institution received the lowest grade." Hong emphasized, "Compared to the public facing management crises, employment crises, and difficulties experienced by citizens, small business owners, self-employed individuals, and companies, public institutions are stable workplaces with guaranteed employment from the public's perspective," and urged, "Public institutions should understand the difficulties faced by the people and our economy, share the pain, and take the lead in overcoming the crisis."

Excluding the Excellent grade, only 21 institutions, or 16.3% of the total, received the highest grade of 'Outstanding (A)'. These included six state-owned enterprises under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport such as Korea Appraisal Board, Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and Korea Expressway Corporation, as well as Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation, and Korea South-East Power. Among quasi-governmental agencies, ten institutions including the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, National Health Insurance Service, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, Small and Medium Business Corporation, Korea Tourism Organization, Korea International Cooperation Agency, Korea Energy Agency, Korea Housing Finance Corporation, and Korea Rail Network Authority also received the same grade. Among small and medium-sized institutions with fewer than 300 employees, five institutions including the Foundation of Agricultural Technology Commercialization and Transfer, Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, Korea Food Safety Management Certification Institute, and Korea Forestry Promotion Institute received the same evaluation.

On the other hand, three state-owned enterprises including Korea Coal Corporation, SR Corporation, and Korea Railroad Corporation received a 'Poor' evaluation, while six quasi-governmental agencies including Korea Veterans Health Service, Korea Industrial Complex Corporation, Human Resources Development Service of Korea, Korea Elevator Safety Agency, Korea Facilities Safety Corporation, Korea Power Exchange, and seven small and medium-sized institutions including Korea Childcare Promotion Institute also received poor evaluations. The Korea Post Logistics Support Group was the only institution among the evaluated entities to receive a 'Very Poor' rating.

The rest were distributed between 'Good (B)' and 'Average (C)' grades. Fifty-one institutions (39.5%) received the Good grade, and 40 institutions (31.0%) received the Average grade. In total, 70.5% remained at a 'middle level,' meaning they performed fairly well or did not have significant problems.

The government’s Public Institution Management Committee may dismiss or issue warnings to heads of institutions based on evaluation results, and reflect the grades in the budget allocation for the following year. Performance bonuses are also paid differentially, with 127 institutions that received relative or absolute grades of Average or higher being eligible.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.