12 Institutions Including Ministry of Education and Korean Intellectual Property Office Selected as Government Innovation 'Excellent Organizations'

Ministry of Employment and Labor, Personnel Administration, etc. Drop One Level to 'Average'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Twelve institutions, including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the National Police Agency, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office, were selected as outstanding institutions for government innovation achievements.

On the 26th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety evaluated the 2020 government innovation achievements of 43 central administrative agencies and announced these results. Minister-level outstanding institutions included the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Environment. Vice minister-level institutions selected were the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the National Tax Service, the Korea Customs Service, the National Police Agency, the Korea Forest Service, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

The government innovation evaluation is composed of innovation capability, innovative inclusive administration, participation and cooperation, trustworthy competent government, proactive administration, and public perception, and the results are derived based on these categories.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, an outstanding minister-level institution, was highlighted for providing ‘agricultural product packages’ to student households whose school meals were suspended, reducing parents’ food ingredient expenses, supporting farmers and suppliers to overcome management crises, and issuing ‘agriculture and food vouchers’ to low-income groups to alleviate nutritional inequality among vulnerable populations.

The National Police Agency, an outstanding vice minister-level institution, collaborated with the three mobile carriers (SK, LGU+, KT) to provide mobile driver’s license verification services and opened 47 types of security data such as 112 call types and voice phishing, supporting the launch of private services, thereby striving to provide convenient and safe public services to the public.

In particular, in the ‘public perception’ category, which is directly evaluated by the public, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety received high praise from the public evaluation group by distributing emergency disaster relief funds to all households nationwide (22.16 million households) within three weeks in cooperation with card companies, and providing mobile electronic certificate issuance services (96 types) such as resident registration certificates and disability certificates.

Additionally, the National Fire Agency received the highest score among vice minister-level institutions from the public evaluation group for its disaster response capabilities, such as proactively mobilizing nationwide 119 ambulances to quickly and safely transport COVID-19 patients and others (118,010 people), and significantly reducing wildfire suppression time during the Andong and Goseong wildfires.

The Ministry of Education and the Korean Intellectual Property Office received higher evaluations than in 2019 and were named outstanding institutions, while the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Personnel Management dropped one grade to ‘average.’ The Financial Services Commission rose one grade from ‘inadequate’ to ‘average,’ while the Korea Communications Commission’s grade fell to ‘inadequate.’

The results of this government innovation evaluation are reflected (10 points) in the central administrative agencies’ government work evaluation, and institutions with outstanding innovation achievements receive various benefits such as presidential and prime minister commendations and monetary awards.

Han Chang-seop, Director of the Government Innovation Organization Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, “In a situation where a new leap forward is needed after COVID-19, the importance of government innovation is growing even more,” and added, “We will continue to strive to spread government innovation that matches the high level and capabilities of the public.”