By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
The ambitious Lee Myung-bak administration champions high hopes for its new Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE), but too bad the general English-speaking public ― at first glance of the awkward name ― is clueless on what the key body intends to do.
``If someone I bumped into at a cocktail party gave me a business card that said `Ministry of Knowledge Economy,' I'd be confused. It's just not clear enough,'' said Tom Coyner, a business consultant and Korea expert.
Joseph Vincent, a professor at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, also baffled, said, ``My first take is that it covers the intellectual property industry.''
But the underrated ministry actually does a lot more than that. Reborn from the commerce, economy and industry ministry plus parts of the information and communication, and science and technology ministries, the MKE is set to promote international trade and investment, provide a stable energy supply and develop the country's technology in key industries.
This government body isn't the only one puzzling foreigners, as Lee's 15 new English ministry names have been scratched out and renamed multiple times, stirring more mix-ups.
The merger of the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Planning and Budget was initially named the Ministry of Strategy Planning and Finance; then the Ministry of Policy and Coordination and Finance; and finally the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
``We've reprinted our nameplate, so it's final now,'' said Yoo Soo-yong, a ministry secretary in charge of finalizing its English title, as he dismissed any possibility for further changes.
But Cheong Wa Dae thinks differently, as it said Monday that there's still room for modifications once its ministers get settled.
``The problem is because there are so many opinions from many different people, claiming to be good at English,'' said an official of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MOPAS), responsible for overseeing the English names of all ministries.
MOPAS press secretary Im Chul-un, agreed, saying the process seemed simple at first.
He explained that the presidential transition committee ― specifically Sakong Il, the head of the national competitiveness committee ― first roughed out the titles and had an internal review before passing it on to the respective bodies, but the ministries had their own thoughts.
``The transition committee insisted on getting across the function of each body, which can make the wording sound a bit unnatural,'' he said, adding that officials within the ministry put more weight on subtleness.
``It's good that someone decided to object,'' said Paik Jin-hyun, a professor of international organizations at Seoul National University.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's draft name was ``weird,'' adding that ``strategic planning'' and ``planning'' carry different meanings.
``Decision-makers really need to think about the definition of every word before making things final,'' he said, adding that these names represent Korea.
Another problem raised by English experts was the length of the new names.
``Some of these titles are six-seven words long,'' said Coyner, exemplifying the U.S. Department of Interior as a good model of a brief name with an elaborate function.
He said there shouldn't be a problem if these new and fancily dubbed ministries are going to deliver something better in quality, ``but if it's just old wine in a new bottle, then we have to seriously think about it.''