Even the most analog-loving Korean enjoys some benefits of the country’s advanced IT systems. They just may not know it.
Take the urbanite who whips out a T-Money pass to get to work. These plastic cards, which are used to pay for buses, subways, cabs, convenience store purchases and some expressway tolls in and around Seoul, come equipped with a central processing unit.
Or the office worker who suddenly realizes he must extend his passport for a business trip. By logging in to his PC, he can submit his resident registration on a Web site that issues civil affairs documents.
Or visitors to the Dibrary, a portmanteau of “digital” and “library,” where a busy reader can check out digitalized books and other publications.
The digital-based lifestyle is everywhere in Korea, from personal to government systems.
And now it appears Korea - which the UN ranks No. 1 in terms of readiness to bring its government systems fully online - is inspiring some other countries. Japan, the country from which modern Korea took most of its government administration during its years as a colony (1910-1945), is only the latest.
On March 21, Kazuhiro Haraguchi, the minister of internal affairs and communications, visited Korea, hoping to learn from its e-government system. During his two-day stay, Haraguchi visited the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, Gangnam District Office and Samsung SDS, among others.
“I’m glad to have seen the big picture of Korea’s e-government administration,” he was quoted as saying. “[Japan] hopes to sign memorandums of understanding on various technologies.”
“I think the reason why an increasing number of other countries are taking a cue from Korea is because with Korea’s system, the disparity between the central government and local district governments can easily be solved,” said Choi Jong-seok, a senior researcher at Korea Local Information Research & Development Institute.
Perhaps Haraguchi’s visit was foreseeable.
TV Tokyo, one of Japan’s major private broadcasters, aired a feature report earlier this month dubbed “Wake Up, Japan’s IT” showcasing Korea’s digital lifestyle, including the e-government administration, digital library and transit card system. Also in early March, Masamitsu Naito, vice minister for internal affairs and communications, visited the Guro District Office to learn about e-government.
“We are getting increased requests from Japanese clients,” said Baik Sang-yeop, a director at LG CNS, which developed the online issuance system for civil affairs documents.
Last month, reports also surfaced that IT systems developed by Korean companies such as Samsung SDS, LG CNS and SK C&C have become foreign importers’ favorites.
Ecuador recently signed a deal to import Korea’s electronic customs-clearance system, developed by Samsung SDS and used at the Korea Customs Service.
Indonesia has also signed a deal with LG CNS for its electronic financial information systems, already in use at Korean government agencies, in addition to a separate deal to provide the electronic crime information systems used by the National Police Agency.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has imported SK C&C’s advanced transportation system, which collects and analyzes traffic volume and flow.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Kim Hyung-eun
Quelle/Source: JoongAng Daily, 30.30.2010
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