Back in June, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the government agency in charge of cyber security, observed the 22nd Information Culture Month. The Ministry cooperated with the Korea Internet & Security Agency in hosting various kinds of cyber security-related events during the month. In early July, major government and mass media websites were paralyzed by massive DDoS attacks. Although they recovered from the attacks, the cyberterrorism reminded everybody once again of the importance of cyber security.
New ICT Environment
“Rapid changes have recently occurred in the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) environment. As a result, an open and sharing Web 2.0 environment has been spreading on a global scale; social networking has come into the limelight; and u-life has emerged as a new mode of living,” said Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Dal-gon in a recent interview with the Korea IT Times.
With ubiquitous intelligence, convergence, and green growth emerging as the latest ICT trends, Korea, like other countries, is still at the stage of introducing those trends. Nonetheless, Korea is believed to have already entered the fifth and last stage of the UN’s informatization development and management model. The five stages of the UN’s model are:
- emergence of technologies,
- enhanced information,
- interactive information access,
- transactional information management, and
- connected and integrated information applications.
ICT in Public Services
As ways to apply new ICT technologies to the public services sector, the government plans to make the most of mobile and ubiquitous technologies to help the people lead pleasant and comfortable lives and step up efforts to prevent disasters and strengthen public security using sensing and networking technologies. The government is also determined to further improve the quality of people’s lives by enhancing its interactive communications with them based on social networking technologies, said Minister Lee.
ICT Trends in Major Foreign Countries
During the interview, Minister Lee commented on ICT trends in major foreign countries. First of all, he cited the example of the Obama administration in the United States, which plans to invest a total of US$30 billion in developing broadband, u-health and smart grid sectors. In August, the US government disclosed a plan to introduce a storefront for cloud computing services to all public agencies by 2010. Meanwhile, the Office of Public Engagement has been set up as a unit of the White House to engage as many Americans as possible in the difficult work of changing America.
The EU has worked out plans to apply green IT and ubiquitous technologies to all member states. In June, Japan announced a plan to introduce cloud computing to enhance the usability of its government’s computer resources by 2015. It has established the National Information Security Center (NISC) as the executing agency determined to ensure information security. China opened Wuxi Software Park within Wuxi National High and New Technology Industrial Development Zone in Jiangsu Province in 2008 with the goal of developing computer resources by using cloud computing technologies.
Global Leader in e-Government
“Korea has been recognized by the international community as a global leader in e-government. The country ranked sixth among the countries of the world in the UN’s e-government readiness survey in 2008. It finished second following Sweden among a total of 154 countries in terms of ICT development index surveyed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),” Minister Lee said.
Through the e-government programs, the Korean government has enhanced the efficiency and transparency of its administration management and improved its administrative services significantly. Since the introduction of the e-government system, the government has achieved innovations in administration management, with about 850 government and public agencies linked to each other online.
All processes of government supply and procurement are handled online. State affairs are managed online in real time through Onnara system which computerizes all policy-making, audit, and evaluation processes. For efficient and transparent administration management, the government has also introduced G4C (government for citizens) and G4B (government for business) online operating systems.
u-Public Services
Minister Lee pledged to make sure that a safe living space is created with convenient systems, that the private market is galvanized, and related industries are fostered and developed. He will do all this by taking the initiative to create public demand for an RFID/USN (radio frequency identification/ubiquitous sensor network) system.
Commenting on the personal information protection bill the ministry is seeking to enact, Minister Lee said his ministry will make sure that agencies collect unnecessary resident registration numbers of web users as little as possible and replace such numbers with i-PINs (Internet personal identification numbers). The ministry will enhance everybody’s alertness against illegal obtaining or supplying of person information, he added.
More details on the Korea IT Times’ interview with Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Dal-gon over his ministry’s e-government and u-public service programs follow. During the interview, he discussed various issues, such as information technology trends and cyber security policies.
Q. What has the ministry achieved on its plan to implement e-government programs and the ministry’s future policy direction? And what problems has it faced in its process?
A. Korea has consistently implemented e-government since the 1980s. As a result, we have succeeded in building the world’s top-rate ICT infrastructure and emerged as a global leader recognized by the international community. The country ranked sixth among the countries of the world in the UN’s e-government readiness survey in 2008. It finished second following Sweden among a total of 154 countries in terms of ICT development index surveyed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Nonetheless, something still remains to be desired in terms of intergovernmental e-services and the people’s frequency of use of those services. In the process, dysfunction of informatization, such as leakage of personal information and cyber attacks, has been aggravated. In order to resolve these problems, the ministry will implement e-government by shifting focus from implementing policies to utilizing results of policy implementation; concentrating efforts on coping with dysfunction of informatization; strengthening both public and private governance; and embodying e-government through communications and convergence.
Q. How successful was your recent visit to Morocco?
A. Very successful. I visited Morocco from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 as the first foreign country since the government adopted a new paradigm for international cooperation on informatization. A beachhead was secured for exports of the Korean informatization model to North Africa.
Speaking at the African Digital Opportunity Forum there, I reiterated the importance of strengthening ICT cooperation between Korea and African nations. Then, we exchanged with Morocco a memorandum of understanding on informatization cooperation. I also agreed with the African Development Bank to carry out joint cooperation projects for the development of informatization in the African region.
Q. What is the ministry’s role in exporting e-government programs?
A. Despite Korea’s reputation as an e-government powerhouse, Korean IT companies exported US$5.5 billion worth of software, a mere 0.6 percent of the global software market volume (US$915.2 billion), in 2007. As you are aware, the domestic information industry has reached its limits, so its future will depend on how we find new overseas markets.
To give active support to the IT companies in their efforts to make inroads into overseas markets, the ministry will try to lay the foundation for exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries, including concluding MOUs on informatization. The ministry will also establish a human network with leaders of the information industry in foreign nations by giving them support in setting up information access centers, training foreign IT experts and dispatching Internet volunteers to those nations.
It will cooperate closely with various agencies, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Knowledge Economy and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), and IT companies. The Korean-style informatization model has been exported or will be exported to Kuwait, Vietnam and Morocco so far. Korea agreed with Kuwait to set up an IT cooperation center, and with Morocco to build an information access center there. It will conduct a feasibility study to set up a government data center in Vietnam from August until October this year.
Q. It is important to maintain close cooperation among the industry, academia and the government to export the e-government programs. What ideas do you have in this regard?
A. IT firms have their limits in finding overseas markets. Especially, Korean IT firms are not known as widely as Korean construction companies in Africa and the Middle East. I think we need a strategy of seeking intergovernmental cooperation first, and then helping IT companies make inroads into Africa, the Middle East or Central Asia.
The government should create a favorable environment for IT firms to advance into overseas markets and cooperate with academia through international conferences or seminars to publicize the superiority of Korea’s e-government model. Then enterprises could make the most of the information provided by the government and academia in their efforts to win orders for foreign government’s informatization projects.
It’s necessary to revitalize the “e-government export support council,” which was launched in May and intensify strategic PR efforts by holding briefings on e-government policies and systems. The ministry plans to strengthen the human network by turning digital opportunity forums into a global forum.
Q. What are policies for the implementation of u-public services using RFID/USN technology?
A. The ministry tries to provide the citizens with more convenient services by helping them make the most of ubiquitous technologies. In the past, the ministry focused on providing services related to welfare, natural disasters, and traffic safety.
Currently, the ministry is providing u-care services for the elderly shut-ins and u-services on weather and maritime information. In the future, it plans to provide u-eco services for a clean green environment, u-safety services for a safety system against natural disasters, u-life services for a safe and wholesome living environment, intelligent u-infrastructure for an enhanced social efficiency, and u-government for citizen-friendly administrative services.
Q. Would you please tell us about the government’s cyber security policies to cope with cyber attacks that were highlighted in the wake of DDoS attacks in early July?
A. Importance of cyber security has increased to a point that it affects the entire life for the citizens and national security. Under these circumstances, the Korean government will drastically increase the portion of information protection policies in preparation against future cyber attacks.
The government will establish DDoS response systems at major facilities, including energy agencies, this year. It will also train information protection experts and expand investment in this regard to create a cyber environment in which citizens can use the Internet without any fears.
Q. Are there any problems arising from Internet culture? If any, what policies is the ministry working out or implementing to solve them?
A. As a result of the spread of unidentified or unconfirmed information, citizens’ privacy has been undermined to serious proportions. An unwholesome information culture, including the information gap between those with full access to information and those with little or no access, juveniles’ addiction to the Internet, and the rampant circulation of porn programs, has become serious social issues.
To cope with this, the government is strengthening information governance initiative and working out various policies. The government has designated the month of June as Information Culture Month in efforts to wage a nationwide campaign to create wholesome information culture.
Q. Tell us about the personal information protection bill the ministry is going to enact. What is the policy direction to strengthen personal information protection?
A. As seen in the recent leakage of personal information in the cases of Auction and GS Caltex, more than 10 million people suffered damage. This reminded us how important the protection of personal information is. The government is, therefore, pushing for the legislation of a personal information protection law to strengthen people’s rights.
The ministry will make sure that agencies collect unnecessary resident registration numbers of web users as little as possible and replace such numbers with i-PINs. It will also enhance everybody’s alertness against illegal obtaining or supplying of person information
Q. Would you please explain to us the ministry’s plan to improve civil services?
A. The government is dedicated to basically improving civil services to minimize citizens’ burden when they file petitions as they seek recourse or need various services from government offices. To simplify and streamline civil services, the ministry is seeking to minimize petition processes.
For example, you had to submit seven different kinds of documents when applying for a passport in the past. But now you only have to submit an application form. Last, but not least, the ministry is determined to drastically increase the kind of civil services, for which citizens can ask online, from the current 1,800 kinds to 4,000 by the end of 2010.
I expect that this will help petition applicants visit government offices much less frequently, which will significantly contribute to helping the government better serve the people and realizing the government’s “low carbon, green growth” vision at the same time.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Chung Myung-je
Quelle/Source: Korea IT Times, 02.09.2009
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