Go Jin, Chairperson of the Diplejeong Committee, "Creating Innovation through Inter-Ministerial and Government-Private Collaboration"

After Implementing the 'Digital Platform Government', Citizens' Daily Lives
Citizens and Businesses Will Be Able to Create New Value

# After losing his job, Mr. Kim received a government 'Benefit Notifier' message. It recommended job-seeking benefits (Ministry of Employment and Labor) for unemployed stability support and emergency livelihood support (Ministry of Health and Welfare) for overcoming livelihood difficulties. Mr. Kim accessed the integrated service portal and applied for these services.

# After giving birth, Ms. Lee applied for the government's postpartum mother and newborn health care (postpartum helper) service. For her first child, she had to submit supporting documents such as a family relation certificate and birth certificate, so she entrusted the child to family members and went around in person. This time, it was convenient because she did not have to obtain documents like the family relation certificate.

Chairman Ko Jin of the Presidential Digital Platform Government Committee. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

This is the daily life possible for citizens once the 'Digital Platform Government' is implemented according to the government plan. The goal of the Digital Platform Government Committee is to provide 'customized services' from citizens' ordinary daily lives to special moments. To realize this, data barriers between ministries, between central and local governments, and between the government and the private sector must be dismantled. Recently, at an office located in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Chairman Ko Jin (62, photo) took out a stack of hundreds of A3 sheets. The papers were densely filled with the negotiation processes and contents with each ministry. Chairman Ko stated, "We will create innovation through collaboration between ministries and between the government and the private sector."

Chairman Ko further explained, "The Digital Platform Government is a digital platform where all data converge, and citizens, companies, and the government work together to solve social problems," adding, "We will provide services to citizens and help citizens and companies create new value."

This year, the first step is to remove the barriers between the executive and judicial branches. The judiciary has so far handed over family relation certificates in PDF format to the executive branch. Public officials at community service centers and district offices had the inconvenience of manually entering key information from these files. Going forward, the judiciary will share raw data with the executive branch, reducing the workload of field officials.

Next is a Q&A.

- Please explain key cases of the Digital Platform Government.

▲ The 'Benefit Notifier' is a service where artificial intelligence collects and analyzes an individual's eligibility and status and proactively recommends services they can receive. The committee prioritizes recommending 1,021 services among about 10,000 government-provided benefit services that the central government credibly offers. 'Zero Attachment Documents' means that when citizens apply for government services, they will not need to obtain documents from Agency A and submit them to Agency B if the public sector already holds the information. This will also be extended to services applied for at financial institutions, associations, and organizations, eliminating the need to submit documents issued by administrative agencies.

The 'One-Stop Support Service for Factory Establishment' is a service that supports complex permits and approvals, which are difficult from the site selection stage due to complicated laws, procedures, and required documents, by providing one-stop support from preparation to application and processing. It recommends an optimal candidate site group according to individual preferences. Additionally, it offers pre-diagnosis services such as pre-legal compliance review through facility simulation.

- Coordination between ministries is necessary to open data.

▲ To resolve chronic issues that hinder progress and to open data in the way demanded by users, a 'Data Opening Discovery Team' operates. This year, 'Business Registration Numbers' and 'Vehicle Registration Information' will be opened first. From next year, plans are underway to open 'Public Transportation Boarding and Alighting Information' and more.

- There are concerns about side effects such as concentration, misuse, or leakage of personal information.

▲ Strengthening security and protecting personal information are the most important prerequisites. A nationwide information protection and personal information protection system involving both public and private sectors will be established to create an environment where citizens can safely use the Digital Platform Government. A MyData transmission infrastructure will be built to allow smooth movement of personal information in a secure environment. In the future, through a personal information access record management system, tracking of personal information access history will be enabled to secure citizens' trust. New security paradigms such as Zero Trust (a security approach that continuously authenticates without trusting any accessors) will be applied. A joint public-private comprehensive monitoring system will also be established to prepare for system failures and security incidents.

Chairman Ko Jin of the Presidential Digital Platform Government Committee. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

- The government's 'super-large AI adoption' is still not tangible.

▲ The government-exclusive super-large AI aims to assist public officials by using AI as an administrative aid to improve work efficiency and enhance the quality of public services in government document preparation, civil complaints, and welfare. The government-exclusive super-large AI will be implemented step-by-step based on government data and private sector technology. Issues such as data reliability (accuracy), security, and ethical concerns (bias, etc.) will be comprehensively reviewed and improved. In the first phase, a pilot project will be conducted using private super-large AI to learn publicly available government documents and introduce it into document preparation such as press releases and speeches. In the second phase, internal data (including non-public administrative documents) will be additionally learned and fine-tuned in a secured separate area to increase reliability and remove bias, and then utilized for administrative services needed by citizens. Furthermore, to improve the limitations of super-large AI use, ethical principles will be established and technology development promoted in cooperation with related ministries.

- What support measures are there for the digitally vulnerable groups?

▲ A customized mode design guide will be developed for digitally vulnerable groups. Advanced digital assistive devices will be provided to people with disabilities. A non-face-to-face identity verification system using passports and overseas stay information will be introduced to improve digital service accessibility for overseas Koreans and compatriots. Digital helpers will be deployed for the elderly and others, and 'Digital Learning Centers' will be operated where anyone can receive customized digital competency education nearby (community centers, welfare centers, etc.).

- What is the overseas response to the 'Digital Platform Government'?

▲ Last year, visits were made to digital government leading countries such as the UK and Denmark to examine their digital government policy cases. Earlier this year, participation in the '2023 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting' led to a flood of meeting requests from CEOs of global companies on-site. They showed interest in Korea's 'Digital Platform Government' and proposed establishing continuous communication channels, cooperative projects, and joint research. When attending the World Government Summit held in Dubai, overseas governments and companies lined up to inquire.

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