Each ministry, agency urged to take responsibility for monitoring public organizations

South Korea has called on each ministry and agency to take the lead in reforming public organizations in a move aimed at accelerating its push to tackle lax management and growing debt problems rampant in the public sector, government sources said Thursday.

According to the sources, Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok emphasized during a meeting with other economy-related policymakers on Wednesday that the responsibility for monitoring public organizations lies with each relevant ministry and agency. He further called for a stepped-up reform in areas in which they are involved.

"This represents an order for each relevant ministry and agency to take a major role in crafting measures to bring the management of public organizations back on track," a finance ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.

"The minister apparently made the call by saying that they cannot be exempt from responsibility for heavy debts and excessive welfare problems in the public sector just as such practices started well before this administration took office," he added.

Another ministry official echoed the view and said that some responsibility should go to each ministry and agency in charge for the currently lax management and moral hazards in the public sector. He called for an increased role in supervising their operations.

Major public organizations, including state-run enterprises, have been under harsh criticism for offering what many see as excessive bonuses and benefits to their employees despite their fast-growing debts and toughening business conditions.

Calls are growing for the government to take action to tackle such chronic loose management problems in the public sector.

Finance Minister Hyun earlier said that the government will unveil a set of reform measures for the public sector earlier next month.

In an unprecedented move last week, he strongly and publicly lashed out at the debt-ridden public organizations, saying, "The party is over," referring to exorbitant bonus payouts and generous welfare and other benefits for their workers.

"It is deplorable that some public organizations are under fire and even losing trust due to their soaring debt holdings, excessive welfare for employees and lax management," he added.

Hyun also said that the government will unveil detailed debt-related data on 12 major debt-ridden public agencies, including housing developer LH Corp. and Korea Electric Power Corp., by the end of this year.

For those companies, he said that the government will push to enforce "strong" self-rescue efforts such as asset sales, production cost cuts and debt reduction. (Yonhap News)