The transition team announced yesterday a sweeping plan for a complete overhaul of the government, in pursuit of a smaller system than what is now in place. The incoming administration of Lee Myung-bak will close down five of 18 ministries and two ministry-level agencies. However, there is likely to be strong opposition to the plan, especially the planned closure of the Ministry of Unification, while experts predict that scaling back the size of the government could have negative effects.

The reorganization plan, according to Chairwoman Lee Kyung-sook, will reduce the size of the government to its smallest since 1969. In addition to the Ministry of Unification, the Ministries of Information and Communications, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Science and Technology, and Gender Equality and Family will be eliminated with certain functions delegated to the remaining 13 ministries.

The plan will also decrease the functions of the Blue House and the prime minister’s office. The incoming administration plans to cut 7,000 civil service jobs and do away with some 200 committees. Employees working in these positions, however, would not lose their jobs under the reorganization plan but would instead be shifted to other positions within the government. The administration’s plan to reduce the number of civil servants is apparently aimed at slashing the budget. The current administration has steadily increased the number of civil servants in its employ for the past five years.

The reduced size of the government also appears to be connected with regulatory reforms, and sources predict that an intensive work period to implement the incoming administration’s plans will follow.

The transition team has also announced that certain ministries will be enlarged via the absorption of other ministries. In this case, a considerable number of civil servants would take charge of reforming regulations at their respective ministries. Unlike the those employed in the government in the past, people working under the new administration would take on the role of assisting with the cutting of regulations in the private sector, rather than controlling these initiatives as they had done before.

The transition team has made it clear that it will not tolerate resistance from governmental employees, saying, “We will actively make use of the president’s leadership to overcome their resistance. We will establish a team in the presidential office to reform regulations and deal with the problem.”

According to Professor Yang Yeong-cheol, who is part of a committee on governmental reform, the transition team’s reorganization bill will help the new administration to maximize its strength by downsizing the government and putting the focus on restructuring. He noted that the integration of the five ministries into the remaining 13 would weaken the government’s strength by causing a power struggle among government employees.

Another characteristic of the reorganization is the reinforcement of planning and policy coordination within the presidency. To enhance the government’s policy planning directives and ability to coordinate policy from a macro-economic perspective, the transition team plans to create the role of senior presidential secretary for national policy panning. In addition, the team’s plan calls for merging the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Planning and Budget into a new ministry tentatively named the Ministry of Planning and Finance. This newly created ministry would manage the country’s budget and be responsible for dictating economic policy.

The purpose of strengthening the functions of planning and policy coordination appears to be an attempt at consolidating governmental power in the presidency for former CEO Lee Myung-bak. Like any office in charge of devising new strategies for a large conglomerate, the government would ostensibly have greater influence over administrative affairs under the revision plan once its strategies are in place. The government may therefore function with increased efficiency than in the past, but illogical policy planning could have an adverse impact on the nation.

Kim Jung-yang, former director of the Korea Institute of Public Administration, said, “The transition team’s reorganization of the government appears to be focused on creating a smaller, stronger administrative structure, following a similar worldwide trend. However, If the government’s strategic functions are strengthened excessively, unrealistic policies may be executed, resulting in administrative confusion.”

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