Digital Government Review of Korea

Foreword 3
Acknowledgements 4
Executive summary 8

1 Assessment and recommendations 11
Strengthening governance, investment, and skills for digital government 12
Improving data governance, sharing, and use 16
Leveraging AI for government transformation 20
Delivering human-centred and proactive public services 23

2 Korea’s journey to becoming a global leader in digital government 27
Introduction 28
Early policy and institutional development (1970s-1980s) 28
Building a national ICT infrastructure (1980s-1990s) 28
Whole-of-government strategy and governance (1990s-2000s) 29
Shifting from e-Government to digital government (2010s) 31
Advancing together with the international community 32
Conclusion 33
References 34

3 Strengthening governance, investment, and skills for digital government 37
Introduction 38
Contextual factors 39
Institutional model 44
Policy levers to lead digital transformation 50
Digital government investments 54
Digital talent and skills 64
References 72

4 Improving data governance, sharing, and use 79
Introduction 80
Data governance in the public sector 81
Government data access and sharing in practice 86
Using data to unlock value for citizens and businesses 90
Data and trust 91
References 93

5 Leveraging AI for government transformation 97
Introduction 98
Use of AI in government 99
Enablers of trustworthy AI in government 101
Guardrails and engagement for trustworthy AI in government 106
References 108

6 Delivering human-centred and proactive public services 113
Introduction 114
Building accessible, ethical and equitable public services that prioritise user needs, rather than government needs 115
Delivering with impact, at scale and with pace 120
Being accountable and transparent in the design and delivery of public services to reinforce and strengthen public trust 124
References 127