Ministry of the Interior and Safety Reports 'Government Committee Reorganization Plan' at Cabinet Meeting
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government will conduct a comprehensive survey of committees whose necessity has decreased or whose performance has been poor in order to implement a practical government that works well, and will boldly reorganize at least 30% of them.
On the 5th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it reported the 'Government Committee Reorganization Promotion Plan' containing these details to the Cabinet meeting. Committees were introduced as a system to reflect various opinions on government policies, but several problems have been pointed out, such as the establishment of unnecessary committees, failure to form committees, failure to hold meetings, which hinder rapid decision-making, and budget waste due to operation as honorary positions.
The government plans to actively promote reorganization such as abolishing committees, changing affiliations, integrating, and redesigning by re-examining the necessity of all committees from the ground up. In particular, it will focus on reorganizing committees that have not been formed for a long time or have poor performance, committees that are similar or duplicated, committees with low participation of private members, and committees that are purely advisory or for opinion gathering. The goal is to reorganize at least 30% (200) of the total 629 committees currently in operation.
First, each ministry will comprehensively review the necessity and performance of committees and prepare their own reorganization plans, while the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will form a public-private joint inspection team to directly verify and inspect the reorganization plans of each ministry and recommend improvements if necessary. Once the reorganization plan for committees is finalized, a bill reflecting it will be promptly prepared and submitted to the National Assembly.
Along with reorganizing committees, the government will also promote measures to prevent the establishment of unnecessary committees and strengthen management. By amending the Administrative Agency Committee Act, it will institutionalize the setting of expiration dates for all committees in principle to prevent unnecessary committees from being left unattended for a long time. In addition, it plans to transparently disclose the status of committee activities and reorganization by ministry to the public, and take measures to reduce budgets in consultation with budget authorities for committees with poor management.
Minister Lee Sang-min said, “Unnecessary committees have been established over time, and many committees are operated to avoid responsibility or as honorary positions, contrary to their original purpose.” He added, “Starting with fundamental reorganization of committees, we will manage the government organization efficiently and stably to meet the expectations of the people.”
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