1.2 - E. Reinventing Government

In his presentation, Mr. Kuk-Hwan Jeong, Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, Republic of Korea, briefed the Workshop on his Government's most popular e-government initiative, the G4C (government-for-citizens) project. The Government of the Republic of Korea was among the most aggressive users of e-government. Of a total population of about 48 million, the Internet reach was 28 million, and 11 million households subscribed to high-speed broadband Internet. That demonstrated that there were already enough users and potential demand for government online services. Based on that, the Government of the Republic of Korea created the G4C programme. That initiative represented the current e-government focus of the Government. The Internet provided a powerful tool for transparency and clear administration, reducing the probability of corruption, and through the G4C project, electronic democracy was possible, as interactions between the government and citizens were frequent (Figure 5 [PDF 62KB | 1 page]).

The Government portal site was www.egov.go.kr*. Users of the portal included central government, local government, citizens and entrepreneurs. It was used for information sharing, electronic document interchange and so on. Users were often connected to the portal through high-speed networks.

Information sharing (citizenship, land, vehicle, businesses, taxes) was one of the key goals and measures for the success of e-government. Other goals were the development and implementation of infrastructure (electronic authentication, e-documents, e-payments) and improving the legal system. One of the most problematic programmes was electronic service delivery.

There were many reasons for pursuing e-government. Those included as a means to overcome inconveniences in government services and information delivery. Also, it helped to overcome the size and complexity of government, which were major barriers to citizens wishing to access government services and information. In the Republic of Korea, there were more than 50 ministries and agencies, revealing the necessity of e-government and information sharing online. Further, e-government helped to:

1. Identify which official in which department at which level for which programme; and
2. Enable citizens to become active players, with government services and information provided when, where and how they wanted those provided.

The information sharing system enabled the Government to be accessed online as one entity. Further, it reduced the number of trips citizens had to make to government offices, and the number of documents required for verification (citizenship, ownership of land, vehicle registration could be provided online). Those were all key benefits to citizens.

Another e-government project was the e-village project. The e-village project aimed to reduce the digital divide by providing services to rural communities, boost regional economies and establish the foundation for egovernment services (Figure 6 [PDF 71KB | 1 page]). The e-village project operated in 103 remote villages across the Republic of Korea and was soon to be expanded to 191 villages. On-going funding of the project had not yet been finalized. Initially, it had been centrally funded, but currently funding was split to a 7 to 3 ratio between the Government and the village. The future success of the project required private sector involvement, either in the provision of equipment or funding.

The e-village project was the main focus of the plenary session, as many participating countries faced a similar challenge. Much of the discussion focused on the funding arrangements for the project and its financial sustainability. Mr. Jeong said that the future financing model for the project was currently the most important issue. The Government was trying to attract private sector support. He said that the Government had taken measures to improve the funding mechanism, but ultimately that was a public support programme designed to reduce the gap between information "haves" and "have-nots", and therefore the ultimate responsibility for its support rested with the Government. As time went on, that was becoming more difficult to maintain, so a funding mechanism for the future was needed and models were being developed for that purpose.

* This link takes you outside the ADBI website.

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