The story on Internet use in Korea is already famous worldwide. Fortune business magazine reported that "nearly everyone in Korea has Internet access that puts Americans to shame" and that "broadband is as basic a utility as water and electricity." (Sept. 2004). As people become aware of the power of the Internet and experience good service in the private sector, they become less tolerant of poor service in the public sector.
People used to dealing with their banks to carry out transactions anytime online and without delay will want to know why they have to wait in a line for public services, and most of the time along with repetitive forms. They do not want to have to inform 10 different government agencies when they move.
They are frustrated when they are asked to repeat information that they have already submitted to the government.
At the heart of our approach in the e-government initiatives are the government portal site and information sharing within and across governmental agencies, leading to easy access to government information and electronic service delivery for the convenience of citizens.
Through the information sharing system, public databases can become interactive and interface each other.
Information and services can be gathered and presented to citizens - events dealing with birth, education, marriage, moving, retirement, and so on.
Thus, the number of verification documents submitted for a service can be reduced. The government portal has been designed in such a way to offer direct access to forms and applications, relevant laws and regulations, and government programs. This is what we see in the portal, G4C (Government for Citizens), which has been in service since Nov. 1 2002. Its purpose is to overcome the complexity of the delivery process of public services.
Although e-government services have been made available, the adoption of those services by citizens and businesses remains another issue.
Some people are still suspicious of the e-government services either because they are unfamiliar with them or because they have concerns about the potential misuse of personal information contained in the system.
The challenge is to get people used to new processes, to persuade them that it really is easy, and to defuse possible emotive issues such as privacy and the threat of online fraud.
The fact we must remember is that the emphasis in e-government should be on the "government" and not on "e". E-government is "government", not "technology".
In driving the e-government initiatives, we go beyond the technical agenda and focus on putting citizens at the center of the administrative process, realizing at the same time that it is not just about how we govern, but about how well we govern. People want a public sector that is aligned around them.
Autor: Jeong Kuk-hwan
Quelle: The Korea Herald, 28.02.2005
