Government Bodies to Have New Names

With the start of the Lee Myung-bak administration, government organizations are being reshaped in line with the new president’s philosophy.

In contrast to the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration, which valued ‘reform’ and ‘balance,’ ‘creativity’ has emerged as an important value in the new administration. Accordingly, new divisions named with words such as ‘Russia’ and ‘climate change’ will be set up, indicating the new government’s policy directions.

According to the government Monday, the previous ‘reform planning division,’ which had been responsible for reforms in the past participatory government, will be renamed the ‘creativity and reform division.’

A government official said, “The changes reflect President Lee’s political philosophy that emphasizes active and creative performances, as is well represented by his words, "Different work should be done in the morning and the afternoon."

The ‘legal administrative team,’ which had been in charge of making and improving corporate regulations, will be renamed the ‘regulatory reforms and legal affairs division’ with a focus on reforming rules.

The ‘general affairs division,’ which had played the critical role in the central government, will be switched to the ‘management support division,’ to give to the people an impression that it is there to support and serve the public.

The new Knowledge and Economy Ministry, which combined some of the functions of the Commerce, Industry and Energy, Science and Technology, Information and Communication and Finance and Economy ministries, will spearhead the new administration’s ‘business-friendly policies.’ The government will also create a team for `cooperation with China and Russia’ to take charge of Russia, a country Lee emphasized as a core nation in Korea’s energy diplomacy.

The Europe and America team had in the past dealt with the issues related to Russia, but the new government decided to combine the Russia-related tasks with those of the China team.

The ‘energy policy planning division,’ which had been in charge of energy policies and conservation, will be changed into the ‘climate change and energy policy division’ to cope with the climate change treaty. The ‘balanced development of local industries division,’ which was first created during the Roh administration when it designated the Commerce, Energy and Industry Ministry as the core government body for the nation’s balanced development, will be renamed the ‘local economy policy division.`

changkim@donga.com