Budget for Poor State Projects to Be Slashed
By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
The government plans to cut the budget of one out of four government financed programs due to poor performance.
According to a Ministry of Strategy and Finance evaluation of 275 government financed projects, 67, or 24.4 percent were rated as unsatisfactory. Only 17.8 percent were evaluated as good, dropping from 41.6 percent a year ago.
The ministry is planning to cut over 10 percent of the budget for the poor performing projects, while some of the poorest could be scrapped.
The Ministry of Welfare's project to build nursing homes for senior citizens, for example, completed only 34.7 percent of its 2007 plan last year. Critics say the support was too focused on metropolitan areas.
The Ministry of National Defense's project to relocate military and defense facilities barely accomplished half of its original plan.
By ministries, those dedicated to economic affairs had the highest evaluation on average. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism had six unsatisfactory projects, followed by the former Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it would enhance the effectiveness in financing government projects by cutting the budget for poor performing ones. Those performing well, meanwhile, will have a budget increase. Around 400 billion won is expected to be saved through these measures.
The government has formed a committee to evaluate government-financed projects ― one third of all projects are audited each year.