Among 59 Committees under the Prime Minister, 28 Had No Plenary Sessions for 1 Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] It has been confirmed that four out of every ten committees under the Prime Minister have not held a plenary session (attendance meeting) even once in the past year. Since this could lead to controversy over wasteful use of taxpayers' money, bold restructuring is necessary.

According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as of June, there are 59 committees under the Prime Minister (10 administrative committees and 49 advisory committees). This accounts for 10% of the total 585 committees under the President and various ministries.

The problem is that a huge budget is invested to operate these committees, but many of them do not hold proper meetings. Among the 59 committees, 32 have been allocated budgets, and 9 of these received more than 1 billion KRW.

Nevertheless, from July last year to June this year, 23 committees chaired by the Prime Minister did not hold a single attendance meeting. Eleven committees did not even hold written meetings. Including those chaired by the head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination or those where the chairperson and committee organization have not yet been formed, the number reaches 28.

There are also many committees criticized for being forcibly organized despite overlapping duties. The Early Childhood Education and Care Committee, which is still being organized, and the Childcare Policy Coordination Committee chaired by the head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination have been pointed out for overlapping duties.

Criticism is also directed at committees with partially overlapping duties such as the Green Growth Committee and the Special Committee on Fine Dust Measures, the Cultural Diversity Committee and the Content Industry Promotion Committee, the Information and Communication Strategy Committee and the Information and Communication Infrastructure Protection Committee, as well as the Land Policy Committee, the Special Committee on Urban Regeneration, and the Yongsan Park Development Promotion Committee.

Administrative organizations related to civil servants have been allocated budgets despite the possibility of overlapping duties. The Civil Servant Disaster Compensation Pension Committee was allocated 206.46 million KRW this year, the advisory Government Performance Evaluation Committee received 2.153 billion KRW, and the Public Personnel Innovation Committee was allocated 24.8 million KRW.

There is also criticism that the administrative practice of operating committees permanently without setting a dissolution period is irrational. Among the 59 committees, only two?the Pohang Earthquake Truth Investigation Committee and the Special Committee on Fine Dust Measures?have set dissolution periods.

Experts point out the need to improve the efficiency of committees under the Prime Minister. Professor Kim Yongcheol of the Department of Public Administration at Pusan National University said, "The criterion for evaluating committees should be how much they have helped in rational policy decision-making. If multiple committees are created and operated every time an issue arises, problems such as budget waste and various operational inconveniences may arise, and it may not help policy decisions."

Regarding this, an official from the Office for Government Policy Coordination said, "We are reducing committees under the Prime Minister and transferring them to ministries, but the number of committees chaired by the Prime Minister is increasing due to bipartisan agreements. It is appropriate to establish committees chaired by ministers responsible for each ministry, and the Office's policy is that the number of committees under the Prime Minister should not increase beyond what the Prime Minister can handle."

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