Public Entities'Customer
Satisfaction Index Improving

MPB reveals the outcome of a survey for second time

Public organizations under the umbrella of government ministries and government-invested institutions are found to get higher customer satisfaction points during 2006 than the previous year.
Twenty-two bodies, including Korea Gas Technology Corp., Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements and Korea Research Institute for Standards and Science, belong to the top 20 percent group, while 20 organizations, including Korea Publication Ethics Commission, National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, are in the bottom 20 percent group.
The Ministry of Planning and Budget (MPB) on Dec. 6 announced the outcome of a survey of 30,000 customers who have been offered services for the past one year from 53 public organizations affiliated with government ministries and 60 government-invested institutions. The government conducted the 2006 customer satisfaction survey for a second time after the 2005 survey according to the government innovative management master plan.
Forty-nine organizations affiliated with government ministries except the Korean National Tuberculosis Association and three others saw the average customer satisfaction index standing at 78.2 points (satisfactory) in 2006, up 1.9 points from 76.6 (satisfactory) in 2005. Government-invested institutions also saw the average customer satisfaction index rising by 3.9 points to 77.5 points, said Bae Kuk-hwan, director general of Non-departmental Public Entities'Innovation Bureau at MPB.
Government-affiliated public organizations got 78.7 points, up 1.5 points from the previous year in the "social satisfaction category"covering social contributions and social volunteering activities, while government-invested institutions had higher 79.9 points, up 4.6 points over 2005 in the same category.
In the "constituent category"including service quality, process and facility/environment, government-affiliated organizations got 78.3 points, a rise of 2.2 points, and government-invested institutions had 77.8 points, a surge of 6.2 point, thus serving as a factor for raising customers'actual satisfaction.
MPB officials said a rise in customer satisfaction in the constituent category is attributable to the fact that government-invested institutions have generally shown an improvement in such areas as the quality of services and meeting usage purposes, while government-affiliated organs got higher points in such "environmental satisfaction"areas as facility/environment agreeableness, contact availability and information usage convenience.
By institution, 113 surveyed organizations have been classified into four grades: top 20 percent. middle-upper 30 percent, middle-lower 30 percent and bottom 20 percent. As a result, 10 government-affiliated organizations, six government-invested institutions from economic and humanities sectors and six other government-invested bodies from the scientific field ranked in the to 20 percent group.
In particular, nine organizations, including Korea Gas Technology Corp., Korea International Cooperation Agency, Export-Import Bank of Korea, Korea Plant Service & Engineering Co., Export-Import Bank of Korea and Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science placed in the top 20 percent group for the second time in a row. On the other hand, seven organizations, including Korea Publication Ethics Commission, National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences and Korea Research Council of Public Science & Technology ranked in the bottom 20 percent group for the second straight year.
Thirteen institutions, including Korea Nuclear Fuel Co, Korea District Heating Engineering Co,, Korea Housing Management Co., Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Electric Power Data Network Co., the Korea Transport Institute and Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, entered the top 20 percent group for the first time.
Among the institutions which belong to the top 20 percent group for the first time were five, including Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Electric Power Data Network Co. and Korea Development Bank which have ranked among the top 20 percent group during 2006, the year when they are subject to the customer satisfaction survey.
Korea Development Bank has been credited with having pursued customer-oriented management by introducing a new financing support system designed to invest in commercialization of initial technologies in a bid to support SMEs'competitive edge and building up an integrated system for handing customers'demands.
Industrial Bank of Koreas has been praised for ensuring customer satisfaction management in a systematic and consistent manner by establishing a customer satisfaction master plan. nw

Chang Byoung-wan, minister of planning and budget