-- Minister`s Speech at the UN Public Service Day --


Mr. Vice-President, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the United Nations for its celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations Programme on Public Administration and Development. It is a great honor and pleasure for me to deliver this message today at this prestigious gathering, and to congratulate the winners and finalists of the Public Service Awards on behalf of the East Asian region and the Government of the Republic of Korea.

I would like to thank His Excellency, Vice-President of the 62nd United Nations General Assembly, Dr. Asha Rose Migiro, Deputy-Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Mr. Zukang Sha,
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, for the gracious invitation to this important event. I would also like to express my special gratitude to Director Guido Bertucci and the staffs of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs for their devotion to the progress of public administration.

Today we live in an era unlike any other - a period in history dominated by constant social, political and commercial change.
States, regardless of their size or remoteness, are now linked by multiple and extensive fields of networks creating new and demanding challenges for policy makers.

The complexities of this new form of interdependence have changed the traditional role of the State. Globalization has also led to the development of new roles, relationships and partnerships
among government, the civil society and the private sector.
This has enhanced the influence of the public on governance systems and administrative institutions.
For 60 years, through its Programme in Public Administration and Development, the United Nations has assisted Member States in their efforts to strengthen, improve and reform their governance systems and administrative institutions.
The Programme has been able to remain faithful to its message while, at the same time, incorporating the traditional public administration paradigm with appropriate innovations derived from a new public management movement and a public governance
approach.
The UN Programme has carried out its mandate through pooling and facilitating access to information, promoting training and research, advocacy and exchange of experiences, advisory
services, technical cooperation and capacity-building in public administration.
The Programme has particularly focused on the linkages between sound governance, public administration system and the implementation of the internationally agreed development goals,
including the Millennium Development Goals.
With regards to this, the UN Public Service Award grants the most prestigious recognition of excellence for changes in public administration, and has contributed greatly to the socio-economic
development of the member states by encouraging innovations and improvement of performance in the public sector.

Our gathering today, recognizing the accomplishments of innovations in public administration is truly meaningful and important. The innovative award-winning cases of this year’s Public Service Award for public organizations from Australia,Brazil, India, Jordan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia and the United States of America will provide us with many useful lessons and greatly contribute to the progress of public administration around the world.
In line with these efforts of the United Nations to achieve global development and co-prosperity, the Government of Korea is also dedicated to promoting good governance through public sector
reform.
The current Government of Korea led by President Myung-bak Lee, which began its term from February of this year, is restructuring itself as a small and competent government based on
the principle of Creative Pragmatism. By enhancing efficiency, the Government of Korea is making efforts to serve its people better. It is also promoting a lively market economy in order to lay
a firm foundation for Korea to become an advanced and prestigious country.
Moreover, the government of Korea is taking proactive steps to strengthen its role as a responsible member of the global community by promoting mutual understanding and international cooperation with other countries.
During the past sixty years since its establishment, the Republic of Korea has achieved both rapid industrialization and undergone a successful transition to democracy. The Government of Korea will share these experiences with the rest of the world, in hopes of providing a useful experience for countries in need of assistance and for the promotion of good governance around the world.

The Government of Korea would like to take this opportunity to reconfirm our commitment of partnership with the United Nations for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
through public sector development.
I would like to close my speech by paying tribute to the United Nations Public Service Day for raising awareness on the importance of public sector reform.
Once again, my heartfelt congratulations to the UN Public Service Award winners and finalists of 2008! Thank you for your kind attention.