Five Months of "Reducing Fake Work": 53% of MOTIE Employees Feel Improved Organizational Culture

Kim Junggwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, is giving a greeting speech at the 2nd All-Staff Townhall Meeting of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held on the 24th at the main auditorium of the Government Complex Sejong. Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

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The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has achieved improvements in organizational culture just five months after launching its "Reducing Fake Work" project, with more than half of its employees reporting that they have experienced noticeable changes.

On April 24, the Ministry announced that it had held the 2nd All-Staff Town Hall Meeting at the Government Complex Sejong, presided over by Minister Kim Jungkwan, to share the achievements and future tasks of the "Reducing Fake Work" project, which has been underway since November of last year. The event was attended by some 500 staff members from both the headquarters and affiliated agencies, and included a session to share progress in improving work practices, as well as an award ceremony for outstanding employees.

Over the past five months, the Ministry has pursued improvements in six key areas: streamlining event preparations, increasing the efficiency of reporting, consolidating overlapping work, and eliminating standby overtime, among others.

As a result, more than half of employees reported improvements in major categories such as greater efficiency in public relations (65%), reduction in standby overtime (61%), and fewer business trips thanks to the increased use of video reports (58%). The proportion of respondents who felt that organizational culture and work practices had improved was 53%, nearly three times higher than the negative responses (18%).

The Ministry also made public the results of an external assessment. According to an analysis by the Korea Productivity Center, due to the characteristics of a real-economy government body, 41.6% of employees’ working hours are spent responding to pressing issues and on external cooperation. Based on these findings, the Ministry plans to identify additional areas for improvement.

During the event, employees also raised opinions regarding various aspects of the work environment, including personnel and welfare policies. Requests included the establishment of a performance-based promotion system, expanded support for skills development, and eliminating disadvantages for those on parental leave. Minister Kim stated that these suggestions would be reflected in future policy improvements.

In addition, the Ministry awarded special performance bonuses to further incentivize "high-performing public officials." In this first round of awards, a total of 68 million won was given to 46 individuals across 8 cases.

In the group category, the team responsible for responding to Korea-U.S. customs negotiations and advancing the shipbuilding cooperation initiative (MASGA Project) received a total of 40 million won. Other teams were recognized for achievements such as supporting advanced industry investment, addressing trade technical barriers, and improving the efficiency of contract-related work. In the individual category, contributions such as laying the policy foundation for AI transformation in manufacturing (M.AX) were acknowledged.

Minister Kim emphasized, "It is highly significant that these changes have been verified by data in just half a year," and added, "We will give back the time that employees used to spend on formalities and outdated practices, and turn these improvements into outcomes that citizens can truly feel."

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