By Yi Whan-woo
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance unveiled a set of measures Monday to overhaul public institutions because of growing concerns over their competitiveness and management efficiency.
The action plans are centered on a five-year policy direction, focusing on efficiency, responsibility and transparency of 295 public organizations across the country, including 30 state-run companies.
To that end, the ministry said that it will closely evaluate the performance of chief executives of state-run organizations.
“Public institutions have repeatedly being blamed for their lax management and business inefficiency such as excessive bonuses,” said Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok during a meeting in Seoul.
“People expect so much from them in terms of efficient services, employment, and solutions for social problems.
“And they should step up their effort to meet such demand and take a leading role to fulfill the government’s creativity-based economic program,” he said.
He further expressed the ministry’s determination to prevent unqualified officials from taking top posts at public organizations by giving more specified guidelines regarding qualifications.
There will also be a performance evaluation of the newly-established public organizations three years after they are set up. The reason is to determine whether they are viable or not.
It also plans to publicly disclose the debt of all public organizations annually, with specific details of how these debts were accrued. This is part of the efforts to reduce public sector debt.
The government also plans to create 70,000 jobs in the public sector over the next four years to support the Park administration’s goal to raise the employment rate up to 70 percent.
In order to support the government’s effort for mutual growth among various business groups, the ministry will enhance collaboration between government-affiliated agencies and small- and medium-sized enterprises.
The plan includes sharing technologies and know-how, as well as forming a consortium to guide their expansion into overseas markets.
The public will be able to monitor the management efficiency of public institutions through a website that will offer all details regarding the financial status of these organizations.
The poor management of public institutions is blamed for the inefficient services they offer.
For instance, the country faces possible electricity shortages this summer caused by the unexpected closure of four nuclear reactors and a temporary suspension of five additional reactors.
They are operated by the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power that was implicated in the falsification of qaulity certificates for parts of the reactors.
Also, the debt of 295 public organizations totaled 493.4 trillion won ($428.3billion) as of last year.