Six Ministries — Unification, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Information and Communication, Gender Equality and Family, Science and Technology and Finance and Economy — will be merged with related ministries and the Government Information Agency will be disbanded.
Two special ministerial posts will be created to take responsible for key government projects. The number of departments in Cheong Wa Dae will be reduced from the current four to one department and one sub-department, and the number of senior secretaries to the president will be cut from the current ten to seven.
The details of the finalized restructuring plan were made public yesterday by Lee Kyung-sook, chairwoman of the transition committee, at the committee office in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.
The Ministry of Planning and Budget will absorb the Ministry of Finance and Economy to become the Ministry of Planning and Finance, which will be responsible for planning and coordination of economic policies, budgets, state funds, the tax system and international finance. The Financial Intelligence Unit and the financial supervisory functions of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, including supervision of foreign exchange deals, will be merged with the Financial Supervisory Commission and change its name to the Financial Commission.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Energy will be expanded and become the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy by adding the IT industry policies of the Ministry of Information and Communication, industrial technology policies of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the broadcasting industry promotion functions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Presidential Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission, which will be operated under direct presidential control, will be created to integrate the Ministry of Information and Communication’s policies, which involves telecommunication services and the enforcement of telecommunication regulations, with the Korean Broadcasting Commission’s policies and broadcasting regulation enforcement roles.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be expanded and renamed the Ministry of Agricultural, Fishery and Marine Foods by absorbing the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries’ fishery and marine product-related policies and the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s food industry promotion policies. It will supervise the Korea Coast Guard. The Rural Development Administration will be turned into a government-funded research institution. The Ministry of Construction and Transportation will be reorganized into the Ministry of Homeland and Marine Affairs by embracing the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries’ port logistics policies, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Korea Forest Service, and the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs’ Land registration and real estate management function.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will absorb the Ministry of Unification to become the Ministry of Unification and Foreign Affairs, whose function includes management of inter-Korean dialogue. The Ministry of Unification’s role to analyze intelligence on North Korea will be transferred to the National Intelligence Service and its role to promote inter-Korean economic cooperation will be split into the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy and the Ministry of Homeland and Marine Affairs.
The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development will hand over its major supervisory roles on employment, promotion, curriculum development, and educational administration to regional education authorities and civilians. The Education Ministry will become the Ministry of Talent and Science by combining the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Energy’s function to train human resources with the Ministry of Science and Technology’s role to nurture scientists and engineers and promote basic science.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare will become the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Women by integrating the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the National Youth Commission, as well as the anti-polarization authority of the Ministry of Planning and Budget. The Ministry of Environment will absorb the Korea Meteorological Administration and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries’ role to manage marine environment polices.
The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs will be also renamed the Ministry of Administration and Security by adding the Civil Service Commission’s personnel management system and its management function, the Emergency Planning Commission and the Ministry of Information and Communication’s e-governance and information protection role.
The Government Information Agency will be dissolved and its function to promote Korea overseas will be transferred to the Ministry of Culture.
Ministries of Justice, National Defense and Labor will remain unchanged.
Out of the 10 exiting commissions, the Civil Service Commission, the Presidential Commission on Small and Medium Enterprises, the Ombusman of Korea, the Korea Independent Commission against Corruption, the Emergency Planning Commission and the Government Youth Commission will be abolished, but the Commission on People’s Rights and Interests will be newly launched.
The Presidential Secretariat and the Office of the Presidential Security will be merged into the Office of the President. The existing Office of the Presidential Security will be replaced with the Security Agency, located within the Presidential Secretariat. Presidential secretaries for national policy planning, political affairs, civil affairs, the economy, social policies, talent, science and culture, and national security will share the Office of the President.
Before yesterday’s announcement, the presidential transition committee explained the leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties about the government reform bill. The transition team, which aims to pass it by the end of this month, will begin to persuade politicians and submit the restructuring bill to the National Assembly on January 21, when the assembly committee session begins.
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Quelle/Source: Donga, 17.01.2008
