E-government has continued to improve the quality of life for the people by playing a pivotal role in raising national competitiveness through the removal of the time and spatial constraints of government services.
On the other hand, as tricky social issues that are hard to address with existing solutions have come to the fore and as our society is transitioning into one that is centered on knowledge and information, collaboration between the government and the people has markedly grown in importance. That’s why we now need a paradigm shift, that is, a shift to “Government 3.0,” which refers to the Park Geun-hye administration’s initiative to build a capable government offering services to individual citizens in a transparent manner.
Marking Government 3.0 that values openness, sharing, communications and collaboration, now is the time for us to put our heads together and seek new strategies from a new perspective in order to overcome the limitations of the existing e-government systems and provide individual citizens with government services tailored to their needs.
In that sense, the 1st GeGF, held last year, culminated in adopting “Seoul Communiqué,” which enjoyed the full backing of ministers and vice ministers from 19 nations. The GeGF 2012 Seoul Communiqué revolved around making the GeGF an annual event and setting up CIO (Chief Information Officer) networks.
The 2nd GeGF has expanded in size: high-level representatives from governments, academia and industry in 30 nations will grace the forum with their presence. Above all, this year's GeGF is co-located with the 7th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV). ICEGOV is an international e-governance conference series, organized by the United Nations University.
The GeGF 2013, scheduled to be held at KINTEX, South Korea on October 22 through 23, will allow high-ranking representatives from governments, academia and industry to discuss a paradigm shift in e-government and ways to reinforce international cooperation in pressing on with Government 3.0.
Holding the GeGF 2013 in collaboration with the UN, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration of South Korea looks to facilitate discussions on current trends and hot-button issues regarding e-government and to create momentum for the world’s balanced growth in the face of rapid environmental changes.
Lastly, I would like to offer my warmest welcome to all of you who came from far away to attend the GeGF 2013, which is designed to promote the development of e-government and global collaboration.
I hope the GeGF 2013 provides you with a great opportunity to share and exchange information.
Thank you very much.
Yoo Jeong-bok, Minister of Security and Public Administration of the Republic of Korea
