1. Historical trajectory of e-government in Korea

The Republic of Korea’s e-government system has demonstrated rapid progress in the past 20 years. The country has ranked first in the UN E-Government Survey as well as E-participation Index between 2010 and 2014.¹ The Republic of Korea’s movement toward e-government started in late 1980s with a revolutionary development of information technologies.² The historical evolution of the e-government system can be categorized into three stages based on the Internet penetration rate: preparation stage (1987~1995), diffusion stage (1996~2002) and maturation stage (2003~now).³

1.1 PREPARATION STAGE (1987~1995)

In this period, the basic database for public management was digitalized and back offices of government agencies were aligned for effective public administration. The Republic of Korea’s government’s movement toward e-government was initiated with the establishment of the Committee on ‘Promoting Administration Computerization’ under the Ministry of Government Administration in 1975. The committee established the first (1978~1982) and the second (1983~1986) Basic Plans on Administration Computerization to set out priorities for each ministry’s administration computerization. Subsequently, an administrative computing network was built as part of a national basic information system in late 1980s. The first (1987~1991) and the second (1992~1996) Basic Plans on Constructing an Administrative Computer Network were also established by the Committee on Promoting Administration Computerization.⁴

The administrative computing network facilitated automation of the administration; construction of an integrated database on administrative information scattered across all ministries and government agencies; and network-building among government agencies, providing the basis for online public services in the 1990’s, as the Internet started to be widely used by citizens. Six focus areas for the administrative computing network included resident registration, property registration, automobile registration, employment, customs and economic statistics, all of which are closely related to the everyday lives of citizens.⁵

1.2 DIFFUSION STAGE (1996~2002)

In 1996, one year after the Framework Act on Informatization Promotion (1995) was legislated, the first Basic Plan for Promoting Informatization was established as a national ICT master plan, which prompted line ministries’ informatization. The second Basic Plan for Promoting Informatization was established in 1999 and was later developed into the Cyber Korea 21 Initiative in the same year. The initiative aimed to lay the groundwork for a knowledge-based nation through informatization to improve national competitiveness and people’s lives. Towards this aim, it set out a number of goals, which included to increase investments in knowledge-based industries to match OECD member country levels; join the top-ten knowledge-based and informatized nations in the world by 2002; expand Internet infrastructure; improve services for citizens and business; and undertake e-literacy training for citizens.

The initiative recognized e-government as a means for improving national productivity and competitiveness. An online patent registration system, online customs information system and one-stop system for management of international freight were introduced. Also, a super-high speed information and communications network was built in this period to provide high speed broadband services in 1,400 towns all over the Republic of Korea.⁶

As for e-government, the government digitalized its administrative procedures by promoting the use of electronic document approval systems, improving information systems of government agencies, expanding online services, and building an integrated administrative information system for enhanced convenience and efficiency in using government administration services. Also, government ministries and government agencies started to create home pages. Under the Official Information Disclosure Act legislated in 1997, they are obliged to release information on civil affairs and laws/regulations, public announcements and policy reports to the public via their webpages. Subsequently, the government set out the ‘e-Korea Vision 2006 Plan (2002~2006)’, which aims to improve productivity of all the citizens, industries and the government, and to introduce innovation in administrative services and improve efficiency and transparency of the government. Faced by challenges in inter-ministry coordination and harmonization, the government established a presidential special committee on e-government that comprised vice-ministers of related ministries and civilian experts, and legislated the Electronic Government Act in 2001. The special committee set out 11 focus areas to build an integrated online administration system by sharing administrative information across the ministries. Main achievements during this period include building an online one-stop system for administrative services, including in civil affairs, property and automobile registration (G4C) by integrating databases across ministries; introducing online national tax services; setting up an e-procurement system (G2B); building a national financial information system for realtime monitoring; integrating online systems for four social insurance schemes (health insurance, national pension, workers’ compensation insurance and employment insurance).⁷

1.3 MATURATION STAGE (2003~NOW)

The Roh Moo-Hyun administration, which came to power in 2003, continued the e-government efforts initiated by the previous administration, and expanded e-government initiatives by digitalizing processes and integrating information systems of government institutions, while improving accessibility of the public information useful to citizens and industry. It announced the administration’s vision and principles on e-government and established an e-government road-map. By doing so, it attempted vertical and horizontal integration of government systems among ministries, improving e-participation of citizens and governmentwide information sharing. In 2004, the National Government Organization Act was revised to transfer e-government tasks from the Ministry of Information and Communication to the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, in order to separate the e-government efforts from national informatization efforts. The Roh Moo-Hyun administration sought networked innovation of service delivery, knowledge for efficiency and transparency in public administration, and citizen participation for realizing sovereignty of the people through e-government.⁸ Visible results of this shift include: the establishment of an integrated public administration database to promote ease of delivery of government services to citizens; digitalization of the work process within government, expansion of online G4C services, creation of an online channel/ platform where citizens can voice their complaints, and integration of G2C services and the online channel into a governmental web portal.⁹

The next administration of Lee Myung-bak dissolved the Ministry of Information and Communication, transferred tasks on national informatization to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, and established the Presidential Committee on National Informatization Strategies to integrate efforts for national informatization and e-government. Subsequently, the Framework Act on Informatization Promotion was revised into the Framework Act on National Informatization in 2009, and Electronic Government Act was also revised in 2010 to unify the operational processes for national informatization and e-government efforts.¹⁰ In 2011, the administration established the Smart E-government Plan to advance the government’s services by utilizing developed IT technologies and making government services converge for more participation of, and communication with, citizens. With increased service delivery via mobile phones, citizen access to services and information has improved and their online participation in decision making has expanded.¹¹

1.4 GOVERNMENT 3.0 AND E-GOVERNMENT

With the advent of smart society,¹² the Korean government launched the Government 3.0 initiative. The initiative is a new paradigm of public administration, where public information is open to, and shared with, the public, and fragmented coordination among various ministries is integrated.

Compared to the government’s past approaches (Government 1.0 and Government 2.0), it is oriented more to the individual citizen, and pursues the value of expanded democracy with proactive release of public information, promotion of active participation of citizens, and more communication and cooperation.¹³ In this paradigm, public services are to be delivered in an interactive way and in a personalized manner using the possibilities opened up by the wireless Internet and smart phones.¹⁴ Table 1 highlights the differences between Government 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.

Table 1
Paradigm Shifts in Public Administration

The Government 3.0 initiative set out three strategies: pursuing values of openness, sharing, communication and collaboration; transparency and competence; and citizen-oriented services. It aims to provide public services customized for each citizen and create new employment and new growth industries.¹⁵ The government legislated the Act on Promotion of the Provision and Use of Public Data in 2013, pursuing values of openness and citizens’ right to know.¹⁶ Also, it opened portal websites for release of public data (data.go.kr) and public information (http://open.go.kr) so that citizens can get online access to public information.¹⁷ See Table 2 for key features of Government 3.0.

Table 2
Vision, Objectives, Strategies and Values of Government 3.0

Kim (2013)¹⁸ summarizes the paradigm shifts from Government 1.0 to Government 3.0 initiatives: “Citizens used to be recognized as mere subjects of authoritative governmental control under the Government 1.0 paradigm, but the Government 2.0 paradigm moved towards recognizing them as customers of public services. The Government 3.0 paradigm goes one step further: it recognizes citizens as collaborators and seeks to provide public services tailored to each citizen’s needs” (Kim, 2013: 7-8). This paradigm could contribute to enhanced citizen accessibility to public information and promote citizen participation in improving the delivery of public services.¹⁹ Annex I summarizes the key stages in the evolution of the e-government ecosystem in the Republic of Korea.