Prospects of
e-Government in Korea

E-Government can be defined as a service-oriented government delivering online services to citizens and efficiently performing administrative works by the use of information and communications technology(ICT). Where e-government services are provided, government agencies deal with their business processes electronically. In addition, citizens and firms can obtain necessary information and services at anytime and from anywhere via Internet. In the end, it aims to enhance transparency and efficiency in public administration, and encourage citizens'active e-participation in public administration.
Korea has implemented e-Government projects since the late-1980s. Starting with the "National Basic Information System Project"for residents, vehicles and real estate, which was launched in 1987, the government digitized administrative information and business processes in all the ministries and agencies by the year 1992, and completed 11 key initiatives, including Government for Citizen(G4C) services, e-Procurement and national finance information system in the year 2002 to develop infrastructure for e-Government. Based on the infrastructure, the President Roh administration adopted e-Government as a national agenda, designed to reform the government in 2003, with the recognition of the need for change, innovation, decentralization and autonomy. In so doing, the government announced the 31 projects on e-Government Roadmap to further development e-Government, investing an estimated 972 million dollars by the year 2007. The 31 projects being implemented under the e-Government roadmap include administrative information sharing, increased citizens'e-participation, e-Trade services, the build-up of the National Computing & Information Resources Administration Centers(NCIRA) and Integrated Criminal Justice Service System. In brief, in promoting e-Government, the Presidential Committee on Government Innovation and Decentralization(PCGID) and the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs(MOGAHA) as the headquarters plan, coordinate and evaluate projects, while NIA provides support on expertise.
Thanks to Korea's continuous efforts for e-Government, Korea was recognized as one of world's leading countries in e-Government, ranked 5th out of 191 countries in e-Government Readiness index accessed by the UN in two consecutive years of 2004 and 2005. Furthermore, the government has connected a national broadband network to the digitally isolated population, including 1,400 villages and towns. As a result, it has also achieved a high ranking in broadband internet service subscription rates and internet usages. Having said that, the particular attention has been paid to e-procurement system, e-custom systems and KIOPnet(online Patent System) as good practices by such international organizations as the UN, OECD, WCO and WIPO. It was worthwhile for me to see the development in e-Government in my career.
Nevertheless, there is much more to be done. Effective and reliable performance management and assessment should be developed for better measurement. Currently, PCGID and MOGAHA perform the evaluation and assessment on e-Government projects. Moreover, standardization to secure interoperability among e-Government systems needs to be fully established, including standardized administrative code. . Privacy and security also need to be in-depth consideration. With this in mind, Korea envisions a ubiquitous society for the future. Korea is now drawing up a master plan for the next 20 years, while trying to explore new strategies for the next decades after 2008, with elaborate study on diverse policies to brace for u-Society. nw

By Kang Dong-suk, chief of e-Government Promotion Division at National Information Society Agency (NIA)