Culture Ministry Selects 9 Innovative Ideas in Contest to Reduce Inefficient Work Practices

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on April 29 that it has selected nine outstanding proposals from the "Work Diet! Reducing Unproductive Tasks Contest" and will be awarding prizes to the winners.

The Ministry held the contest in cooperation with the labor union from March 10 to March 27 to improve inefficient work practices within the organization and create a more productive organizational culture. As a result, a total of 29 proposals (from 19 individuals and 1 team) were submitted. The judging committee, which included union representatives, evaluated feasibility (40 points), efficiency (30 points), and creativity (30 points), and the results of a preference vote by 322 employees were reflected as additional points to determine the final winners.

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The first prize (Grand Prize) went to the proposal "Automating Aggregation with a Single Click." This proposal was highly praised for automating simple, repetitive Excel aggregation tasks, with the proposer having developed an AI-powered program that can be immediately implemented.

The second prize (Excellence Award) was awarded to two proposals: "Eliminating Unnecessary Receipts," which suggested improving the practice of submitting paper receipts for corporate card usage, and "Making Reporting Simple Rather Than Decorative," which proposed adopting Markdown (md) files-smaller and more compatible with generative AI than HWP files-for reporting purposes. The third prize (Merit Award) went to three proposals: "Improving the Practice of Waiting on the Eve of National Assembly Sessions," "Unifying Civil Complaint Response Tasks," and "Establishing a Subsidy Execution and Settlement Management Team."

Additionally, three proposals received special awards: "Fewer Question Marks, More Exclamation Points," "Improving the Practice of Manual Approvals," and "Streamlining Nonprofit Corporations."

The Ministry stated that the "Automating Aggregation with a Single Click" program will be expanded for use in support departments and that, following the "Making Reporting Simple Rather Than Decorative" proposal, a pilot program for simple Markdown-based reporting will be operated through July. The Ministry also announced plans to swiftly apply the winning ideas to actual work sites.

Minister Choi Hwi-young stated, "This contest has created an opportunity for employees to focus on the core value of their work and to reflect on and improve existing practices," and added, "We will continue to foster an environment where proposals for work efficiency can be made at any time and strive to build a smart public service culture."

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