Ministryof Planning & Budget “Freeze Public Corporation Hiring“

The prescribed number of employees for public corporations and government subsidiary bodies for this year will be comparable to last year`s number. Wages for the public corporation sector will apply to all the employees rather than for second-level employees and above.

The Ministry of Planning and Budget (MPB) confirmed the news in their `2002 Public Corporations and Government Subsidiaries Management Reform Index` which they sent to relevant departments on January 13.

MPB head of public maintenance Park Jong-Kyu stated, "The wage plan will be expanded according to the particular characteristics of the department concerned while we have restricted its use as a means to increase wages. We will introduce team work, internal cooperation, and multi-faceted assessment systems in order to increase organization flexibility and prevent internal competition."

The MPB has decided to increase the amount of electronic equipment procurement by 50 percent and to place restrictions on private contracts with subsidiary firms or guaranteeing loans.

The MPB also urged all departments to implement a system of using outside auditors.

Public corporations and government subsidiaries must use these measures as the basis for forming a management reform plan. Each department must then consolidate the plans from each division and report it to The Presidential Commission on Government Innovation by February 15.

Kwang-Am Cheon iam@donga.com