Four out of Ten Government Committees Face 'Abolition or Integration'... Presidential Committees Also Reduced by 13

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Finalizes Committee Reorganization Plan... Draft Amendment to be Submitted to Cabinet Meeting This Month
Lee Sang-min: "A Measure to Eliminate Waste and Inefficiency Due to Poor Management"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government will abolish or consolidate 246 unnecessary committees out of 636 government committees. It is expected that 164 committees will effectively be phased out among the total committees. In particular, more than half of the affiliated committees under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Environment have been listed for reorganization.

On the 7th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety confirmed the committee reorganization plan and announced that a bill for revising related laws to reorganize committees will be collectively submitted to the Cabinet meeting in September. Earlier, on July 5, the Ministry conducted a full survey of committees whose necessity for retention had decreased or whose operational performance was poor, and pursued a plan with the goal of boldly reorganizing at least 30% or more. Through a public-private joint diagnostic team including 13 civilian experts, the ministry reviewed and checked the self-reorganization plans established by each ministry, discovered committees requiring additional reorganization, and finalized the committees subject to reorganization after consultations with ministries.

The inspection results for this committee reorganization revealed that a considerable number of government committees were inefficiently established and operated, performing similar or overlapping functions with each other, and some committees rarely held actual meetings despite appointing members. Vice Minister Han Chang-seop stated, "Some committees had poor meeting performance or operated inefficiently by performing similar or overlapping functions," adding, "This reorganization plan was prepared to reduce waste and inefficiency within the government by abolishing or consolidating such committees."

The number of committees confirmed for reorganization this time is 246, accounting for 39% of the total 636 committees. This greatly exceeds the initial target of 30%. By type of reorganization, 166 committees (67%) will be reduced by being abolished or converted into non-permanent meeting bodies, and 80 committees (33%) will be reduced through consolidation of similar or overlapping committees.

By affiliation, 13 committees under the President, 21 committees under the Prime Minister, and 212 committees under ministries will be reduced. Vice Minister Han explained, "Almost all ministries exceeded the initial target of reorganizing more than 30% of their committees," noting that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (65%), Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (54%), Ministry of Environment (52%), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (49%), Ministry of Education (46%), Ministry of National Defense (46%), Office for Government Policy Coordination (43%), and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (41%) showed very high reorganization performance.

The main reasons for reorganization were similarity or overlap with other committees (40%, 98 committees) and poor operational performance (26%, 64 committees). Other reasons included simple advisory nature, long-term non-formation, achievement of establishment purpose and decreased necessity, and low participation of civilian members, in that order.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to collectively submit the bill to the Cabinet meeting after going through related procedures such as consultation with relevant agencies, regulatory review, and review by the Ministry of Government Legislation. Going forward, to ensure the effects of committee reorganization continue, an amendment to the Administrative Agency Committee Act, which mandates that newly established committees must have a fixed term of existence within five years, will also be submitted to the Cabinet meeting.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min emphasized, "This batch reorganization of committees is to eliminate waste and inefficiency caused by the government’s habitual establishment of unnecessary committees or poor operation of committees that rarely hold meetings," and added, "We will continue to promote reforms so that the public can directly experience a practical government that works well."

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