S. Korea to step up reform efforts in public sector

SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Friday that it will step up efforts to reform companies and institutes in the nation's public sector in order to improve transparency and efficiency, as they are frequently criticized for lax management and laggard self-reform efforts.
Earlier in the day, the government held a presidential meeting and unveiled
public-sector reform measures focused on improving the "software aspect" of the
sector, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
Under the measures, the government will "periodically" monitor public-sector
institutes and push for privatization, consolidation and other drastic actions
when necessary.
For such restructuring, the government said that it will prepare a legal and
systematic framework including launching a company that will specialize in
selling off state stakes in public companies.
A simplified and improved management evaluation system will also be introduced to
guarantee transparency in corporate management. Public notice obligation will be
strengthened to guarantee better external business monitoring, according to the
government.
The measures were unveiled as demand is growing for a revamp of the nation's
public sector which accounts for 85 percent of the gross domestic product. South
Korea has 298 public institutes as of 2007, with a total of 259,000 employees on
payrolls, according to government data.
Despite its significance in the nation's economy, the public sector has
frequently been under fire as its lax management and feet-dragging in reforms
lead to losses usually covered by taxpayers' money.
Overhauling the country's public sector was one of President Lee Myung-bak's key
campaign promises.
Under three-step measures announced since August, the government is seeking to
privatize 38 institutes, while consolidating and streamlining other overlapped
functions in the sector.
Recently, the government ordered the nation's state-run firms to propose new
measures to streamline operations, including payroll reduction plans, according
to media reports.
The government expects its latest reform efforts will enhance the overall
transparency in the public sector and encourage self-reform efforts to provide
better services for people.
"Better management in the public sector will eventually reduce the financial
burden on citizens... as it will help prevent inefficiency from translating into
a hike in public service fees," the finance ministry said in a statement.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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