Korea’s New e-Government in Today’s Digital Economy

Published on March 23, 2023

Globally, countries are promoting e-Government by introducing ICT to improve government services. While some countries are successful in running a digital government, others are struggling to catch up. Korea is amongst the top countries that have achieved a successful digital government.

Korea ran a transparent, productive, and efficient government faster than other countries because they’ve invested in e-Government. With all these achievements, there’s still so much to be done with introducing new e-government systems such as intelligent government and smart nation. The e-Government environment is constantly evolving, and ICT has the potential to create an advanced society that fosters effective communication and connection among people.

The new Korean e-Government seeks to improve its economy and increase its value and wealth through provable digital strategies to build a new digital economy.

The focus will be on introducing new practices including:

– How Korea’s new e-government increases the economic value

– How Korea’s ON-line e-Procurement System (KONEPS) enables people to run their businesses in the country by processing all the requirements online, such as registration, bidding, contracts, receiving, and payments.

– How Korea’s Electronic Customs Clearance System (UNI-PASS) automates tax collection, export/import, and other administrative processes.

Korean Government Reviews a New Digital Economy Vision

The Korean government has unveiled a blueprint to make Korea a citadel for digital growth by 2027. It plans to introduce the 6G era in 2026, leading other countries and becoming the only country with this digital infrastructure. This is a policy roadmap to achieve the New York Initiative that the President, Yoon Suk-year, announced in New York on Sept.21.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the digital strategy at the 8th Emergency National Economy Meeting that President Yoon led at the Kim Dae-Jung Convention Center in Gwanju on Sept 28.

According to the President, the Korean government will prepare to make Korea a major digital stronghold based on their digital initiative. The plan is to increase Korea’s AI competitiveness to third place globally. The government will invest more in strategic areas such as semiconductors, quantum computing, and the metaverse to access world-class technologies.

The Korean government plans to move higher in rank from 12th to third place in the IMD Digital Competitiveness Index and retain the first position in the OECD Digital Infrastructure and Digital Government Index and move from fifth to first place in the Global Innovation Index (GII) by the WIPO, by 2027.

To realize these goals, the Korean government sets to invest 301.8 billion won in next-generation technology development. That’s not all; the Korean government plans to invest 1.2 trillion won in core AI semiconductor technology for five years until 2026. It will increase the size of the data market from its current 23 trillion won to 50 trillion won.

Also, the Korean government will devote time and energy to recruiting talent and human resources development. More classes and centers will be available to teach technology and computer education. They will train one million digitally talented individuals by building more software engineering schools.

The Korean government will demonstrate the world’s first pre-6G service in 2026 and will improve on securing 6G standard patents.

Digital Government Strategy and Cases in Korea

The GovTech initiative was launched in 2019. It was high in demand by World Bank client countries for support on how to improve advanced digital transformation programs to boost government productivity and efficiency. One of the products created was the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI) which was launched in 2021. It was designed to understand GovTech maturity better in client countries and recognize entry points for future interventions.

According to the GTMI, the Korean Republic remains one of the leaders and top countries in the GovTech group. Also, client countries are clamoring to use Korean government systems and applications, such as Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (dBrain and e-Hojo), Human Resources Management Information Systems (e-Saram), and Government Workflow Management Systems (On-nara).

Conclusion

Korea is a leading country when it comes to digital transformation. The Korean government seeks to achieve a digital platform government that provides practical, efficient, personalized, and integrated services for its citizens through partnership and data sharing among ministries. They also aim to build a scientific government based on data-driven policymaking. At the pace the Korean government is moving, these visions can be achieved before the expected time.

Sources

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/davos23-korea-digital-platform-government/

http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=101304

https://unctad.org/meeting/koreas-new-e-government-todays-digital-economy

https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2022/02/09/digital-the-door-to-a-better-world-digital-government-strategy-and-cases-in-korea

About the Author

Mohammad J Sear is focused on bringing purpose to digital in government.

He has obtained his leadership training from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, USA and holds an MBA from the University of Leicester, UK.

After a successful 12+ years career in the UK government during the premiership of three Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair, Mohammad moved to the private sector and has now for 20+ years been advising government organizations in the UK, Middle East, Australasia and South Asia on strategic challenges and digital transformation.

He is currently working for Ernst & Young (EY) and leading the Digital Government practice efforts across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and is also a Digital Government and Innovation lecturer at the Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po, France.

As a thought-leader some of the articles he has authored include: “Digital is great but exclusion isn’t – make data work for driving better digital inclusion” published in Harvard Business Review, “Holistic Digital Government” published in the MIT Technology Review, “Want To Make Citizens Happy – Put Experience First” published in Forbes Middle East.

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