10th Public Institution Management Committee Held by the Government
Im Gi-geun, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is striking the gavel at the "10th Public Institution Management Committee Meeting of 2025" held on the morning of the 4th at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in Jongno-gu, Seoul. (Source: Ministry of Strategy and Finance)
The government has reformed the preliminary feasibility study system for public institutions to accelerate the implementation of essential national policy projects. Projects that are urgent in terms of procedure or directly related to public safety can now be applied for at any time, regardless of the regular application periods.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance held the 10th Public Institution Management Committee meeting on November 4 and discussed plans to improve the preliminary feasibility study system for public institutions.
These measures were developed after gathering opinions from public institutions, which are the main project implementers, and from the Korea Development Institute (KDI), which is responsible for conducting the studies. The aim is to expedite the preliminary feasibility study process, which has been in place since 2011.
First, even outside the three designated annual application periods, projects that are urgent in terms of implementation procedures or related to public safety can now be submitted at any time. In particular, for urgent projects, discussions with KDI can begin from the "project selection stage" for the preliminary feasibility study. The government explained that this will significantly reduce the duration of the studies.
Even if project plans need to be changed during the course of a study, the process will be managed flexibly without a separate deadline for change requests. In addition, for large-scale projects involving multiple public institutions, several projects can be bundled together and submitted to the Cabinet for approval.
The revised "Operational Guidelines for Preliminary Feasibility Studies on Projects of Public Enterprises and Quasi-Governmental Institutions," reflecting these improvements, will take effect starting today.
Vice Minister Im Gigeun stated, "This improvement is a proactive measure as part of 'regulatory reform within the government,' supporting public institutions in implementing essential projects in a timely manner. We will continue to communicate with relevant agencies so that the preliminary feasibility study system is seen not as a bottleneck or obstacle, but as a stepping stone for project implementation."
At the committee meeting, management information for public institutions in the third quarter was also reported. As of the end of the third quarter, the total workforce of public institutions was 427,000, an increase of about 4,000 compared to last year. The number of new jobs created in the first three quarters was 19,000. This includes 1,900 new positions at Korea Railroad Corporation to strengthen railway safety, and 5,300 positions such as resident doctors at national university hospitals.
Investment execution by designated investment institutions in the third quarter amounted to 55.2 trillion won, an increase of 7.8 trillion won compared to the same period last year. As of the end of June, public enterprise assets totaled 755.2 trillion won, up 4.2 trillion won from last year, while liabilities decreased by 700 billion won to 536.7 trillion won. Net profit for the period was 4.4 trillion won, and the debt ratio was recorded at 245.6%.
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