hankyoreh

South Korea ranks No. 1 among 198 countries worldwide in online government services this year, a state-run trade promotion agency said Monday, citing a report from Brown University in the United States.

According to the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the report showed that South Korea, which ranked 86th in 2005 and 32nd in 2004, drastically improved its e-government performance in a number of areas, including disability access, existence of publications and databases, presence of privacy and security policies and contact information.

The South Korean government offices' Web sites provide a variety of online services such as tax reports, lists of successful candidates for state exams and reunions of separated families in South and North Korea. PDA access, user fees and foreign language translation were also among the merits, according to the report.

Other nations with advanced e-government features were Taiwan, Singapore, the U.S. and Canada, which ranked second through fifth, respectively.

North Korea ranked 17th, up from 183rd last year, thanks to upgraded online services, including access to databases.

The study by Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy of 1,782 government Web sites was conducted between June and July this year. Researchers analyzed diverse sites, including executive, legislative and judicial offices as well as ministries.

The center has released global e-government rankings since 2001.

Seoul, Sept. 4 (Yonhap News)