[Defense Club] Government Restructuring Should Focus on Efficiency

Every government in history has pursued organizational restructuring immediately upon its inauguration. They utilized organizational reorganization as a means to quickly convey their national governance philosophy by merging or abolishing ministries or creating new organizations.

The Kim Dae-jung administration faced an unprecedented challenge with the foreign exchange crisis from the outset. It advocated for a "small and efficient government" as a measure of shared sacrifice. The number of public officials and staff was reduced. The Ministry of Finance and Economy was reorganized into the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and a response system was established to mitigate the shockwaves of the foreign exchange crisis. The Roh Moo-hyun administration focused on functional readjustment rather than organizational restructuring. This was intended to enhance the autonomy and accountability of government ministries and strengthen competitiveness within the public service. A multiple vice-minister system was introduced in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, and Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy. The Korea National Statistical Office and the Korea Meteorological Administration were elevated to vice-ministerial level organizations.

The key theme of the Lee Myung-bak administration was the consolidation and abolition of ministries. It reduced 11 agencies by integrating ministries with similar or overlapping functions. The Presidential Secretariat and the Presidential Security Service were merged into the Presidential Office, and the Planning and Budget Commission and the Ministry of Finance and Economy were integrated into the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development were combined into the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. In the middle of his term, the youth and family functions of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs were transferred to the Ministry of Gender Equality, and the ministries were renamed the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, respectively. The Park Geun-hye administration emphasized a "small government" focusing on core functions and expertise. It created the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning as a control tower for the "creative economy" related to science and information and communication technology, transferred trade negotiation functions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and established the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs. Following the Sewol ferry disaster, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security was created, and the Korea Coast Guard was disbanded due to failures in rescue operations. The Moon Jae-in administration focused on building an economic model of fairness and innovation. It established the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, renamed the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning to the Ministry of Science and ICT, and merged the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs and the Ministry of Public Safety and Security to create the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, thereby establishing a new national disaster management system.

The current administration is pursuing organizational restructuring in the defense sector. It plans to establish a second vice minister position in the Ministry of National Defense and transfer the functions of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). DAPA was created in January 2006 during the Roh Moo-hyun administration to ensure transparency in defense acquisition projects by separating the weapon acquisition authority from the Ministry of National Defense. However, over time, the organization has grown bloated, and despite the existence of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), the Defense Technology Quality Institute was established separately from ADD. The Defense Technology Quality Institute has also created another research institute under its jurisdiction. This has led to confusion and overlapping investments in defense research and development.

As problems continued, the establishment of a second vice minister position in the Ministry of National Defense was once discussed. The idea was to create a second vice minister responsible for defense capability improvement and force operation, while significantly downsizing DAPA. The leading figure in this was former Deputy Minister of National Defense Jang Su-man. Throughout his term, he emphasized to reporters the need to bring DAPA under the Ministry of National Defense and introduce the "second vice minister system." However, upon his appointment as the head of DAPA, he suddenly changed his stance. As the head, he said it was a "misunderstanding caused by a lack of understanding" and that it was appropriate to keep DAPA as an external agency. This was interpreted as his desire to avoid interference from the Ministry of National Defense after becoming the head.

Government organizational restructuring is not a turf battle. The focus must be on efficiency. Until now, the military’s weapon acquisition process has often been distorted by passing through a complex bureaucratic system. The complicated acquisition procedures only delayed the timing of weapon procurement. Now, a reorganization of the defense acquisition system is necessary. This is the only way to continue the "K-Defense Industry myth."

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