Gov't, IT firms sign MOU to boost exports of e-gov't system

By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government and domestic
information-technology groups signed an accord on Monday to promote exports of
electronic government systems worldwide, the home ministry said.

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security said it signed the memorandum
of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and four
industrial umbrella groups, including the Korea Information Technology Service
Association.
South Korea is a world leader in the digitalization of administrative procedures,
civil service and government records. Since 2001, the nation has exported about
US$114 million worth of e-government systems to 23 countries, including
Indonesia, India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Pakistan, according to ministry
officials.
The government's online systems for managing state finances, tariffs, public
procurement and patent data have been the most popular of all, they said.
However, there have been limits for local developers in exporting their products
because of the government's ownership and their lack of overseas marketing
experience, officials said.
The MOU will allow companies seeking to advance into overseas markets to use
copyrights of the public systems on a paid basis and get necessary marketing
information and consulting, the ministry said.
"The signing will help facilitate overseas advances of 252 current e-government
systems," the ministry said in a statement.
Last month, the nation ranked first in two categories -- preparedness and
participation -- in a United Nation's e-government evaluation report for 2010.
"We'll do our best to make e-government systems one of the country's leading
export items along with semiconductors, LED (multicolored light-emitting diode)
TVs and shipbuilding," said Kang Jung-hyop, a ministry official in charge of
digitalization strategies.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)

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