Foreign officials to get IT education in Seoul

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- Government officials from 12 countries will participate in a one-week training program provided by Seoul's Home Affairs Ministry on information technology and e-government, officials here said Monday.

Twenty-five officials from Beijing, Bangkok and other cities will undergo the "Seoul e-Government" program from Tuesday, inspecting IT facilities in the South Korean capital and attending lectures on Seoul's geographical and transportation information system, the Seoul Human Resources Development Center said.

Seoul has been pushing its e-governance initiative since 2002 with the goal of
narrowing the information gap between cities and regional townships, and
improving communication between government, citizens and businesses.

The government has also been active in spreading and sharing its technology to
other nations, recently signing memorandums of understanding with Japan, China,
Malaysia and Vietnam to implement e-government systems in those countries.

In 2006, Korea received the top award for electronic governance at an
international e-government forum comprising 45 participating countries.

hayney@yna.co.kr

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