NARS,
'National Assembly Think Tank'

NARS Director Shim speaks about its evolution into the nation's top-class comprehensive policy analysis institution from the long-term perspective

The following are extracts of a written interview between NewsWorld and Shim Ji-yeon, chief of the National Assembly Research Service (NARS), who touched on the institution's responsibilities and future plans.
Question: Will you tell us about NARS' major responsibilities and roles?
Answer: NARS was established in accordance with the Act on the National Assembly Article 22-3 to assist in the legislative activities of members of the National Assembly by undertaking research on legislative and national policy issues.
As the first of NARS' major duties, it provides members with its research and analysis reports upon request. It offers parliamentarian-oriented one-on-one services, tailored to meet the individual needs via telephone, e-mail and direct briefing. The organization's provision of legislative information services to parliamentarians has been dramatically improved since its establishment. Secondly, NARS conducts proactive research on emerging critical issues on legislation and public policy and publishes reports on the results.
NARS' other function is to boost parliamentarians' development of legislative policies through policy support to their research institutes.
Q: Will you elaborate on the achievements NARS has made, including legislative requests?
A: The number of legislative requests NARS has received as of June 30, for almost three years since the inauguration of the 18th National Assembly, totaled 14,300, a monthly average of some 400 requests. In particular, entering this year, the monthly legislative requests are on the rise, averaging 473. NARS' handling of parliamentarians' legislative requests is reflected in representatives' legislative and committee activities, including the proposing of bills, the suggesting of policy ideas and the including of committees' review reports.
NARS publishes the following representative reports
- Newsletter on the most recent and debated issues at home and abroad.
- Issue Brief: timely research on legislative and policy issues.
- NARS Report: comprehensive and in-depth research from a mid- and long-term perspective.
- Field Survey Report: field research to obtain in-depth and realistic information.
NARS has issued a combined 415 reports on current issues since the opening of the 18th National Assembly.
We strive to release reports containing in-depth information by making the most of counseling by the NARS' survey analysis support team and advisory committees as well as to strengthen the timely and on-site reporting of the publications by conducing field surveys in such areas related to public daily lives.
The Collection of Policy Information for the Audit of Government, being issued annually by NARS on the analysis of the administrative branch's law violations and administrative loopholes, which need to be corrected, is held in high esteem by parliamentarians trying to use it for the interpellation of the government.
Q: Will you elaborate on NARS' 2011 major policy plans?
A: The top five tasks NARS will implement during 2011 are enhancing the constitutionality of laws; supporting legislation of 'good laws'; aggressively assisting parliamentarians' development of policies and research activities; supporting representatives' committee activities and the interpellation of the government; hiring excellent manpower; and the introduction of research officers' system.
First, NARS is devoting itself to enhancing the constitutionality of laws, which is on the top of the National Assembly Speaker's priority list, so as to minimize the Constitutional Court's unconstitutional rulings and solidify the legislative branch's standing. Recognizing the mounting mistrust over the National Assembly's functions, caused by a failure to revise laws in accordance with the Constitutional Court's unconstitutional rulings, NARS plans to offer analyses on the current status and implications of unconstitutional rulings by issuing reports on them and to strengthen research on unconstitutional rulings through overseas field studies. The Legislation and Judiciary Team of NARS is a department exclusively charged with considering the constitutionality of bills upon request from committees. The team is proactively dealing with the pending cases disputing constitutionality while an advisory committee comprising of constitutional experts, scholars and lawyers is to be formed.
Second, NARS plans to find solutions to bills that have been pending for a long period of time so that the National Assembly can focus on its capability to act as soon as possible. A project to set the guidelines for and support the legislation of 'good laws' is in place through the analysis of legislation impacts. NARS has already issued the current policy report on ways to solve long-standing bills and it is pursuing the publication of a report analyzing the bills, handled by the 18th National Assembly. A task force for a pilot program to analyze and assess legislation's impact on public lives is working on 10 pilot case studies, including the one on the Act on the Facilitating of Corporate Restructuring. NARS plans to build a comprehensive policy information database to promote a prompt and convenient approach to policies and obtain an exact understanding of them while offering policy information necessary for parliamentarians' legislative activities via the National Assembly information network. A legislation and policy suggestion contest will be held to explore legislative tasks through the general public's creative ideas.
Third, NARS is striving to establish itself as a comprehensive policy analysis institution so that the improving of policy and legislation expertise can be utilized for parliamentarians' exploration of policies and research activities. NARS' specialized support team in each field is formed to provide support to parliamentarians' study organizations.
Fourth, NARS plans to aggressively assist parliamentarians' activities by suggesting reviews on hotly debated issues upon request from committees as well as offering support to committees' deliberations and public hearings.
Lastly, we plan to change the job security of researchers who are holders of doctorates who get their tenure renewed on a contract system into a long-term career one in an effort to improve the expertise and continuity of research staff.
Q: What're NARS' mid- and long-term development strategies and visions?
A: First, we're redoubling efforts to strengthen each staff member's expertise capability to improve the quality of our handling of requests on legislative activities and the satisfaction of clients by establishing an evaluation and feedback system.
Second, NARS plans to build a regime for the organic exchange of information between NARS and clients and offer convenient access so as to produce and issue differentiated client-oriented reports on the timely themes of major current issues and enhance parliamentarians' utilization.
Third, NARS plans to ramp up its capacity as an institution specializing in assisting legislative activities by securing expert manpower and building its own independent expert information and knowledge system so as to depart from its existing practice of depending on the administrative branch in gathering legislative and policy information and to build a research-oriented organization culture.
NARS has a long-term vision of establishing itself as the National Assembly Think Tank, the nation's top-class comprehensive policy analysis institution that can provide new legislative information and policy alternatives in all specialized areas. nw

(left) Shim Ji-yeon, chief of the National Assembly Research Service (NARS). A view of the National Assembly Building in Yeouido, Seoul.

Photo on Courtesy of NARS