Government Ministry Evaluation, Ministry of Health and Welfare Ranks 1st... Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport at Bottom [Realmeter]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the main government agency responsible for responding to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), ranked first in a government department evaluation public opinion survey. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which oversees real estate policies, ranked near the bottom along with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

Realmeter announced on the 4th that in the August administrative policy performance evaluation survey, the Ministry of Health and Welfare received the highest score of 59.8 points (out of 100) among 18 government ministries. The survey was conducted from the 3rd to the 27th of last month, targeting 9,060 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, with a response rate of 4.2 to 5.4%. The sampling error margin is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Since the evaluation in July last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has maintained the top position, recording a score of 59.8 points, showing a large gap compared to the overall average score of 41.7 points for all 18 ministries and the second-place Ministry of Science and ICT with 45.7 points. It was the only administrative ministry to approach 60 points. In August, issues reported included ▲ the issuance of work commencement orders to residents and fellows who went on collective strike ▲ support for developing a smart hospital leading model using information and communication technology (ICT) ▲ raising social distancing in the metropolitan area to level 2.5.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport remained in 17th place with 34.3 points. The ministry’s policy support, which had risen to 6th place in April, plummeted to 9th in May, 14th in June, and 17th in July due to successive controversies over real estate policies. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which was evaluated as having responded lukewarmly to the sexual harassment allegations against the late Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul, ranked 18th with 31.3 points.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups recorded the largest rise in ranking among all administrative ministries, jumping seven places from 10th in July to 3rd in August. Realmeter analyzed that "issues such as supporting commercialization technology development for small and medium enterprises that received core technology transfers from universities and research institutes to localize materials, parts, and equipment, and the two-year extension of the special income tax and corporate tax reduction period had a positive impact."

Additionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (45.2 points), the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (44.8 points), and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (44.6 points) ranked 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the economic command center, ranked 12th, dropping six places from the previous month. Realmeter explained, "Controversies over the tax reform plan included in the real estate stabilization measures and the double taxation controversy involving securities transaction tax and capital gains tax in the financial tax system modernization plan negatively affected the rating."

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