Yoon Orders 'Public Sector Efficiency' with Accelerated Reorganization of Presidential Committees

65% Integration and Abolition for Flexibility and Efficiency... "Estimated Savings of 30 Billion Won"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Various committee reorganizations, promoted as part of establishing an efficient government system, are set to be actively implemented. This decision comes from the judgment that some committees within the government hinder responsible administration and increase administrative inefficiency. As part of the public sector's 'belt-tightening' efforts, the Presidential Office plans to enhance administrative efficiency through this reorganization.

President Yoon Seok-yeol's directives are also specific. At the Cabinet meeting in early July, he emphasized that the public sector must take the lead in overcoming the economic crisis, urging the sale of unnecessary assets, expenditure restructuring, and management efficiency improvements. A Presidential Office official explained, "The reorganization of government committees is being pursued from this perspective."

It is known that the 20 committees under the President's jurisdiction spend about 3.3 billion KRW annually on average. Considering that it is difficult to find meetings directly chaired by the President from 2019 to 2021, and that many committees operate formally or suffer from high costs and low efficiency, a major overhaul decision was made.

Recently, the Presidential Office established three main criteria: abolishing dormant committees that are poorly managed, merging or consolidating similar or overlapping committees, and replacing committees that can function as advisory groups or other non-permanent consultative bodies. A Presidential Office official stated, "Over two months, each ministry created its own reorganization plan based on these criteria, and after diagnosis by a public-private joint inspection team, all government committees were thoroughly reviewed and reorganization plans finalized."

Through this committee reorganization, 246 committees, accounting for 39% of the current 636 government committees, will be abolished or merged. Of the 20 committees under the President's jurisdiction, excluding the newly established National Integration Committee in May, 13 will be reorganized. First, the National Education Council, 4th Industrial Revolution Committee, Northern Economic Cooperation Committee, Military Death Accident Investigation Committee, and National Human Resources Committee will be abolished. The National Intellectual Property Committee, Materials, Parts, and Equipment Competitiveness Enhancement Committee, National Water Management Committee, and Asia Culture-Centered City Committee will be transferred under the Prime Minister's jurisdiction, while the Library Information Policy Committee, National Architecture Policy Committee, and National Bioethics Review Committee will be reassigned to relevant ministries.

However, the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee, Economic, Social and Labor Committee, Regulatory Reform Committee, National Space Committee, 2050 Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee, and Special Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Areas will be maintained as is. The Autonomy and Decentralization Committee and National Balanced Development Committee will be merged into the 'Local Era Committee.'

Additionally, 21 committees, accounting for 34% of the 61 committees under the Prime Minister, will be reorganized, and 227 committees, or 41% of the 554 committees under ministries, will be merged or consolidated. A Presidential Office official said, "The operating budget for committees is about 100 billion KRW, and it is estimated that 30 billion KRW in total costs will be saved, including 20 billion KRW from abolished committees and 10 billion KRW from integration and efficiency improvements."

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