FUTURE GENERATIONS’ CHALLENGES AND OPEN GOVERNMENT DISCUSSED WITH OECD MEMBER COUNTRIES IN KOREA

●7th OECD Open Government Working Party Meeting Held from September 4 to 5

●Korea Contributes to the OECD’s Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy Initiative

SEOUL, SEPTEMBER 5, 2024 – The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (Minister Lee Sang-min) has announced that the 7th OECD Open Government Working Party Meeting is taking place in Seoul from September 4th (Wednesday) to September 5th (Thursday).

The meeting will be attended by Mary Beth Goodman, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD; Paul Maassen, Director of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) International Affairs; delegations from OECD member countries; officials from the OECD Innovation Digital Open Government Network (INDIGO Network); and approximately 150 participants from civil society, academia, and youth.

The OECD Open Government Working Party, established in 2019 to support open government activities among OECD member countries, holds annual closed-door director-level meetings. Korea has been participating since the launch of the Working Party.

Meetings were held online from 2019 to 2021, and after Finland in 2022 and Italy in 2023, this year’s meeting is hosted by Korea.



OECD Open Government Working Party Meeting

At the OECD Open Government Working Party Meeting, delegations from OECD member countries will discuss enhancing government trust, expanding civic space, promoting citizen participation, global cooperation and coordination for global crises.

On September 4, Minister Lee Sang-min met with Deputy Secretary-General Mary Beth Goodman to discuss areas of collaboration between the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the OECD in public administration, government innovation and Korea’s role in enhancing public administration within the Asia-Pacific region.

Discussions will also focus on “Enhancing Democracy and Building Trust through Open Government,” a theme from the ministerial declaration adopted at the 2022 Public Administration Committee meeting, which includes aspects like participation, representation, and openness.

Director General Myoungsuk Hwang, who participated in the meeting as a Korean delegate, will share outcomes from the 3rd Democracy Summit held in Korea in March, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and research on public communication using digital technologies, jointly undertaken with the OECD.



OECD Open Government International Symposium

Prior to the meeting of Working Party on Open Government, the Global Symposium on Open Government was held. This public event featured discussions on “Open Government Innovation: Advancing Partnership and Co-Creation for Problem-solving,” with diverse stakeholders from government, civil society, academia, and youth.

Given that the Working Party meeting is a closed session with government representatives only, the Symposium was open to the public. Participants discussed a wide range of topics, from everyday issues like traffic congestion and hate speech to policy challenges for future generations such as depopulation and regional shrinkage. This provided a platform for diverse opinions that are difficult to derive from government discussions alone.

OECD Innovation Digital Open Government Network

On September 3, the OECD Network on Innovative, Digital and Open Government(INDIGO Network) was launched.

The OECD INDIGO Network consists of ten non-OECD Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Brunei, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

The first meeting held on September 3 was attended by officials from eight Southeast Asian countries, as well as delegations from Korea and Australia, totaling around 50 participants. Discussions focused on “Building Inclusive and Human-Centric Policies and Services in Southeast Asia.”

Korea will continue to serve as a bridge between the OECD and Southeast Asia, spreading OECD initiatives to the Asia-Pacific region.

Minister Lee Sang-min stated, “The meeting held in Korea highlighted once again the importance of transparency, integrity, accountability, and stakeholder participation advocated by open government. Moving forward, Korea will continue to demonstrate its global leadership and lead discussions on open government.”



Media Contact:
Yujin Lee
Deputy Director
Ministry of the Interior and Safety
+82-44-205-2218
yujinflee@korea.kr