Changes in Public Service 'Work Processing' Due to COVID-19 ... Online Documents Surge 2.4 Times

Mobile Payment Transactions Increase by 27%... Ministry of the Interior and Safety Conducts Survey with 14,654 Central Government Officials Participating
Remote Work Surges from 2 to 7,782 Cases... 91% of Respondents Say "Must Evolve into a Way Utilizing Digital Technology"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The working methods of public officials are changing to non-face-to-face methods utilizing digital technology due to the impact of COVID-19. Last year, the number of mobile approvals increased by 27%, and the number of online document distributions nearly doubled, increasing by 2.4 times.

On the 17th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced this based on a survey on the working methods of central government officials before and after COVID-19 in 2019 and 2020. A total of 14,654 central government officials participated in this survey.

First, the number of PC video conference sessions increased by 40%, from 60,391 in 2019 to 89,389 in 2020. The number of video conference participants also increased by 123%, from 297,055 in 2019 to 661,810 in 2020. In the public officials' perception survey, 68.9% of respondents said that video conferences increased in 2020, and 71.4% believed that continuing to use video conferences is desirable.

The number of non-face-to-face approvals and online document distributions also increased. The number of mobile approvals rose by 26.9%, from 10,084 in 2019 to 12,801 in 2020, and the number of online document distributions through Document24 surged by 138.6% (2.38 times), from 226,526 in 2019 to 540,574 in 2020.

Working methods have also changed. While telecommuting increased, smart work center attendance and flexible office work hours (staggered commuting) decreased. In the case of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, only 2 public officials used telecommuting in 2019, but this number dramatically increased to 7,782 in 2020. However, as telecommuting increased, attendance at smart work centers decreased by 34.2%, from 565 in 2019 to 372 in 2020, and flexible office work hours decreased by 15.7%, from 28,084 in 2019 to 23,682 in 2020.

Public officials' perceptions of working methods have also changed significantly. According to the perception survey, 91.1% of respondents believed that working methods should develop by utilizing digital technology (17.9% for full implementation, 73.2% for phased or gradual implementation), and 89.6% thought that working methods should shift to non-face-to-face (16.4% for full implementation, 73.2% for phased or gradual implementation).

Based on these statistical data and perception change survey results, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to improve systems in line with changes in working methods to enhance the efficiency of public service work and the quality of administrative services to the public.

Han Chang-seop, Director of Government Innovation Organization at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, “Last year, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the culture of non-face-to-face work using digital technology rapidly spread throughout society, and the public sector was no exception. We will strive to ensure that non-face-to-face and digital technology-based working methods are stably established within the public sector.”

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