S. Korea ranks 3rd in U.N. global e-gov't readiness index

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea ranked third in the United Nation's global e-government readiness index this year, trailing behind Denmark and Finland, but topped the list among Asian countries, the government said Thursday. The index, produced by the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs every other year, rates 193 member countries in terms of digital government in three categories -- capturing the scope and quality of online services, status of telecommunication infrastructure and existing human capacity. In this year's index, South Korea topped the list in online service and telecommunication categories but scored the lowest in the human capacity category among top 10 countries, according to the interior ministry. According to the rankings, South Korea is the only Asian country among the top 10 this year, and also the only country in the world to rank the top three for seven consecutive times since 2010, the ministry said. In 2020, South Korea ranked the second, trailing behind Denmark, according to the ministry. The survey is the only global report that assesses the e-government development status of all U.N. member states by measuring performance of countries relative to one another. khj@yna.co.kr (END)