[Sisibibi] Expectations for Improved Web Openness of Government and Public Institutions

According to the government's '2020 Public Website Quality Management Level Diagnosis Promotion Plan,' recently distributed to major administrative and public institutions, web openness has been included in the public website quality management level diagnosis items starting this year for 48 central government ministries, 17 metropolitan local governments, 17 education offices, and 35 public institutions. We welcome the government's plan.

Web openness is the concept that "information published on the web should be easily accessible to everyone." Most administrative agencies, public institutions, and private company websites are not well aware of web openness and have blocked their website information from being indexed by search engines of search portals. I have been advocating for this to be corrected quickly since 2012, and although it is late, I am very glad that it has now been reflected in government policy.

Web openness aims to ultimately improve the usability and transparency of a sustainable web ecosystem through free information sharing. Most internet users search for desired information through search sites. However, if a website is not open, search engines cannot access the information on that website.

There is a need for a change in awareness and improvement efforts regarding website openness among information providers of public websites such as the government and public institutions. Private companies also have no reason to block access to publicly available information. It is contradictory to spend expensive costs to build and promote a website while blocking access to the website's information.

The government has established a Public Data Portal to open information in various fields such as weather, traffic, geography, and patents. Public information is a national asset with high social and economic value, so reasonable information disclosure is necessary. Expanding the disclosure of public information is desirable. Blocking access to information published on the web renders the website useless and must be corrected as soon as possible. Web openness is also emerging as an important core value for private websites.

There are cases where negative perceptions of web openness arise due to concerns about security or personal information protection. For well-established websites, opening the website does not affect security or personal information protection and can bring various advantages and positive effects. Website openness and security are separate issues, but many misunderstand that blocking websites helps security. Website blocking is not a technical block but a declarative block, so it is technically unrelated to security.

To open a website, full openness is appropriate. While researching and evaluating web openness, I consulted security experts and search experts several times. As a result, partial blocking is like posting a treasure map on the website's door, guiding hackers to important information. Therefore, I have consistently advocated for full openness, while some have argued for partial blocking. However, in this government's diagnosis plan, full openness is scored 1 point, while partial and full blocking receive 0 points.

I am very pleased that what I have researched and advocated alone for eight years is now reflected. The 167 websites included in this diagnosis plan, including the representative homepages of 117 institutions, 30 service sites of central ministries, and 20 service sites of public institutions, are expected to comply well with web openness. However, basic local governments are asked to conduct self-diagnosis, so it is questionable how well they will comply. The government's diagnosis targets should also be gradually expanded.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has sent several official letters to central ministries and local governments, instructing that all administrative and public institution websites, as well as affiliated and subordinate agency websites, comply with web openness. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety should continue efforts to improve web openness until all administrative and public institutions fully comply. I pay respect to the Korea Forest Service and others who have voluntarily complied well with web openness since 2012. Web accessibility has been legally mandated, and compliance with web openness should also be mandated.

Moon Hyung-nam, Professor, Graduate School of Business, Sookmyung Women's University (AI Convergence Business Major)