"Realizing a Government Where the People Are the Owners" Promoting 3 Major Areas and 8 Key Tasks... Innovation in Public Participation, Public Services, and Work Methods

Government Announces '2021 Comprehensive Government Innovation Implementation Plan'
Fast-Track from 'Citizen Ideas to Policy' to Operate Starting April

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government has set the vision of "realizing a government where the people are the owners" and is promoting eight key tasks across three major areas: participation and cooperation, public services, and working methods. While focusing on enabling citizens to easily and quickly access public services to support the recovery of daily life, which was constrained by COVID-19, the plan also aims to operate a government that works together with the people by linking citizens' ideas to national policies and to transform working methods based on digital and data.

On the 2nd, the government announced that it reported and finalized the "2021 Comprehensive Government Innovation Promotion Plan" at the Cabinet meeting presided over by President Moon Jae-in. Since 2018, the government has been establishing plans annually through the Government Innovation Strategy Meeting to expand citizen participation throughout government operations, enhance proactive, preventive, and customized public services that citizens can feel, and implement digital-based administration. As a result, it ranked first in digital government evaluations conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations (UN), and its Corruption Perceptions Index by the international transparency organization has risen for three consecutive years.

This year, the government will operate a fast track from April to quickly link citizens' ideas to national policies and turn them into policies. In particular, it will solicit ideas related to new projects of the "Challenge.Korea" initiative, which turns citizens' ideas into policies to solve social problems, such as the "Korean New Deal" and "2050 Carbon Neutrality," in March, and from May, it will expand the projects to local governments.

Additionally, to expand resident- and community-led solutions to local social issues, the government will activate mobile-based communication within communities and institutionalize methods to link and operate ministry-specific national subsidy projects according to regional characteristics.

Support for personalized "one-stop" public services will also be strengthened. The government plans to introduce the "National Secretary" service to provide life-related information through familiar private channels such as KakaoTalk and Naver, and to support payments via account transfers. Through "Government24," citizens will be able to receive customized guidance and apply for all subsidies provided by central ministries, local governments, and public institutions.

Furthermore, the government will promote a full transition to the digital certification era by introducing mobile driver's licenses and expanding electronic certificate issuance services to over 300 types, focusing on frequently used areas such as finance and telecommunications. For vulnerable groups, it will provide focused "one-stop package services" in five areas: seniors, persons with disabilities, multicultural families, jobs, and employment. It will also introduce a "business lifecycle service" that supports companies with consulting and policy funds from startup to business conversion and closure.

By December this year, the government will strengthen support for IoT-based non-face-to-face care devices targeting nursing homes, facilities for persons with disabilities, and vulnerable elderly households, expand online issuance of school enrollment notifications nationwide, and improve civil service systems in March for foreigners who face difficulties applying for civil services due to language barriers, thereby expanding inclusive services.

The government will also accelerate the implementation of digital and data-based administration, which has been discussed at various levels. It will form the "Committee for the Activation of Data-Based Administration," which deliberates and coordinates major policies on data-based administration, and pursue the establishment of a government integrated data analysis center by June. It will also prepare the "Administrative Document Innovation Plan for the Data Era" to produce and distribute administrative documents in a data-friendly manner to enhance data usability.

Efforts will be made to foster a public service culture that actively leads change and innovation. To activate proactive administration, the government will implement a proactive administration citizen application system, expand incentives for proactive administration, continue the activities of government innovation Avengers by agency to spread changes and intergenerational communication culture in the public sector, and promote the preparation of telecommuting manuals and mobile video conferencing systems for efficient remote work.

In addition, to share and spread exemplary government innovation cases domestically and internationally, the government will utilize the Government Innovation Expo as an opportunity to consolidate innovation achievements and promote the successful hosting of the OGP 10th Anniversary Global Summit in Seoul as the chair country of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in 2021.

Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "2021 is a milestone year to firmly leap forward as a leading country based on the resilience to turn crises into opportunities," and added, "We will create a model of government innovation that accelerates the pace of change to realize a government where the people are the owners."

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