'Transparency, Fairness, and Efficiency' Government Innovation 3 Major Strategies and 8 Key Tasks Implementation... Vision: 'A Government That Works Well and Earns Trust'

Proactive Service, Communication and Cooperation, Competent Government... Announced at the Cabinet Meeting on the 11th
Providing Bundled Services to Eliminate Administrative Blind Spots, Digital Transformation of Public Services

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government is promoting a pan-governmental innovation to ensure that citizens experience tangible changes in their daily lives by first identifying and informing individuals of welfare services they are eligible for through the ‘Welfare Membership’ service, and by applying universal design to public and digital services to prevent restrictions in administrative service use due to nationality, age, disability, language, and other factors. The government will boldly resolve citizens’ inconveniences.

On the 11th, the government held a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Yoon Seok-yeol and finalized the government innovation promotion direction containing these details. Under the vision of realizing a ‘government that works well and is trusted’ tailored to citizens’ demands, the government derived three major strategies and eight key tasks based on the promotion direction of ‘providing world-class services to citizens and improving work methods to enhance administrative international competitiveness.’

The eight key government innovation tasks will be promoted through active communication with citizens. During the process, tasks, plans, and achievements will be transparently disclosed to the public, citizens’ opinions and evaluations will be promptly fed back, and customized education and consulting will be supported for each institution and task. Additionally, pan-government innovation will be carried out jointly by private experts and related public officials. The ‘Government Innovation Committee,’ consisting of academic and field experts, will monitor the progress of key tasks, while the ‘Government Innovation Policy Council,’ involving related ministries and public institutions, will discover and discuss tasks requiring inter-agency collaboration and support the Government Innovation Committee’s activities on a pan-government level.

First, the government will provide proactive services by identifying and informing citizens of necessary information before they request it. The ‘Welfare Membership’ service, which analyzes income, assets, and personal circumstances to find welfare services available to individuals, will be provided nationwide. To protect outdoor workers in construction, delivery, and courier industries from hazardous weather such as heatwaves, heavy rain, and cold waves, the government will provide risk weather information in advance through work apps to ensure outdoor workers’ safety.

The government will proactively discover and provide convenient services for daily life. It plans to bundle necessary services for citizens in administrative service blind spots and provide them at once to improve citizens’ access to services. Furthermore, the current subway-only commuter pass will be improved by introducing a ‘Subway-Bus Integrated Commuter Pass’ that allows up to 60 transfers between subway and bus within 30 days at a discount of up to 40%.

Applying Universal Design to Public and Digital Services... Transition to Online and Digital-Centered Services

The government will also realize administrative services that anyone can easily and conveniently use. Universal design will be applied to public and digital services to prevent restrictions in administrative service use due to nationality, age, disability, language, and other factors. Additionally, a ‘Senior Mode’ supporting large fonts, easy access interfaces, and voice recognition will be developed to enable elderly users to easily use mobile financial apps, and this will be expanded across all financial sectors.

Inconveniences in daily life will be continuously identified and boldly resolved. Measures will be prepared to enhance the security and usability of identification cards by minimizing sensitive personal information such as addresses and resident registration numbers printed on them, while adding necessary information. A three-dimensional address system suitable for high-density, three-dimensional urban structures will be introduced, and address information data will be standardized for easy use by anyone.

Administrative systems and public services will be transitioned to online and digital-centered platforms. Civil petitions that currently require visiting administrative welfare centers will be digitized to allow online application and processing, and required documents will be continuously reduced to improve convenience. Citizens needing legal aid will be able to apply and receive support online comfortably, and prospective parents will be able to easily issue and use their children’s school enrollment notifications online.

Complementary services will also be provided to ensure no citizens are left behind during the online and digital transition. To improve financial accessibility, elderly and disabled persons facing difficulties due to the digital transformation of the financial industry will be able to perform simple financial tasks such as deposits and withdrawals at convenience stores and department stores. Furthermore, children’s and adolescents’ personal information protection will be strengthened, and digital competency education tailored to levels will be provided using living spaces such as administrative welfare centers and libraries for digitally vulnerable groups.

Expanding Target Institutions for Citizen Proposals... Establishing the ‘Petition24’ System

Citizen opinions will be actively reflected in government policies. The scope of institutions eligible for citizen proposals will be expanded without restrictions on the nature of the institution, allowing citizens to freely propose necessary matters. A systematic processing procedure will be established to classify citizen proposals by type and handle them appropriately. Upon citizens’ requests, policy forums will be held, and opinions collected through these forums will be reflected in policies to enhance citizens’ sense of efficacy in policy participation.

A foundation will be established to enable easier and more convenient communication and participation. The ‘Petition24’ system will be built and serviced to allow easy online exercise of constitutional petition rights, and the citizen participation platform ‘OnGukminSotong’ will add contest and public hearing functions to further strengthen communication with citizens. Utilizing regional characteristics, the self-sustainability of local communities will also be strengthened. ‘Local branding,’ which revitalizes local communities and commercial districts based on unique local characteristics and culture, will be expanded to enhance regional competitiveness. Stable settlement within local communities will be supported by actively providing temporary housing facilities, education and programs, and visas to help youth, North Korean defectors, and foreigners settle securely.

Operating a Pan-Government Data Analysis System... Removing Barriers Between Institutions

The government also presented plans to become a competent government. First, it will realize administration based on data and digital technology. A pan-government data analysis system will be operated to resolve national and social urgent issues, and universal data analysis models will be developed by sector and expanded to the public sector. In particular, disaster data dispersed across agencies will be integrated, managed, and analyzed to be utilized in disaster response, establishing a rapid and efficient disaster safety management system.

Collaboration without barriers between institutions will swiftly resolve social problems. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from central ministries, local governments, public institutions, and private companies will be integrated and linked, and information on disaster site conditions and obstacles on dispatch routes will be shared to support rapid and accurate field activities. Additionally, a wild bird avian influenza prediction model will be developed and used in the joint national quarantine system operation.

The government will improve government organization and public service culture. The government will conduct a joint public-private government organization diagnosis to efficiently reallocate personnel and boldly reorganize unnecessary administrative agency-affiliated committees. It will also focus on managing and improving functions, organization and personnel, budget, assets, and welfare of public institutions and local public institutions. Reflecting current era changes, the government will redefine the ideal public servant profile and improve the entire personnel system?including recruitment, education, evaluation, and compensation?based on the new profile. Conditions for efficient work regardless of time and place will be created by piloting self-approval of working hours and annual leave and enhancing the utilization of remote work.

Meanwhile, the government plans to strengthen cooperation with various international organizations on government innovation and actively promote Korea’s representative government innovation achievements to the international community. Through various events with international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), excellent government innovation cases will be shared, and systems and institutions will be packaged for export to facilitate easy adoption by foreign governments.

Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min said, “To realize a government that works well and is trusted, the government must listen to the voices of the people, improve administrative services to make daily life convenient, and effectively and promptly resolve problems,” adding, “We will accelerate the pace of government innovation and make every effort to create changes that all citizens can feel and empathize with.”

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