It was a great surprise for her to know that she could get civil documents, such as certificates of residence and land without going to a district office some 3 kilometers away from her house. She used to have to catch rides in neighbors’ cars due to inadequate public transportation in her small rural town in Yonchon, Kyonggi Province. The electronic government system helped her so much that both her daughter, who got a job in a city in another province, and her son asked her to send necessary civil documents several times. Now she is often considered an Internet expert in the small town, helping elderly neighbors smoothly navigate government Web sites with just the click of a mouse.
The small, but quite revolutionary change to her life is the result of ceaseless efforts by the government since 1987.
Debut of Television Government Services
The government is now attempting another service, which will bring about huge change in the nation, especially to those who have not had access to the Internet. "T-Gov," which stands for television government, will make two-way communication between the government and the public possible through television as early as this year in some parts of the country.
On May 6, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs gave a preview of the future of the new method of government services with some 200 people from provincial offices nationwide.
By the end of this year, the ministry plans to launch a trial 30 services in three steps in Kangnam-gu in southern Seoul, the area considered to have the most developed information network.
The television government system is likely to deeply affect ordinary people’s lives as almost every family in Korea owns a television.
A mother of a high school child struggling with extremely competitive high school courses here will be able to listen to briefings or seminars by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources on the recent changes in the complicated college entrance exam procedure at any time by just pressing a button on her television remote control.
An executive officer of an international trading company will be able to get up-to-date information on changes to regulations on international trading practices starting in August.
Home Affairs Minister Oh Young-kyo has predicted the ultimate goal of the electronic government, often called the "e-government system" is "ubiquitous government," which will enable the public to get easy access to government information no matter what medium they use to access it.
"It has been a problem that Internet-based government services faced certain limits as the aged or underprivileged have not benefited from the new services," said an official in charge of the electronic government system.
Considering his comment, the new television-based system will greatly enhance accessibility for people who have been left behind by the recent technological developments.
The government’s plan for such TV services are likely to combine present Internet-based services and characteristics of televisions, especially easy access and convenient use.
With the new system, it will be possible for a television viewer to get a total of 10 civil documents and around 32 types of information provided by the government.
As the new system is aimed at enhancing mutual communication between the government and the public, through TV surveys, the public will also be able to have their say in controversial issues.
Televisions will become much smarter and will play even a guardian role for some people. An ailing old man will be able to call emergency services by just pressing a red emergency button on his television remote controller.
Autor: Lee Jin-woo
Quelle: The Korea Times, 24.05.2005
