As a result of its continuous efforts to develop e-government since 2000, Korea is now recognized as having the world's best e-government, as indicated by its no. 1 ranking in the UN's assessment of e-governments.
However, there has been a paradigm shift in the information society due to the rapid proliferation of the mobile environment with the recent appearance of smart phones and tablet PCs, as well as the convergence/fusion and intelligence of information technology and services with the emergence of cloud computing, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0.
Furthermore, increasing attention in Korea is being focused on national and social issues such as the low birth rate, the ageing society, and global warming. There are also new demands for disaster management, social safety and welfare due to the increasing importance of social safety, the spread of the notion of caring for others and the sharing culture, and an increasing desire for social integration through the resolution of social polarization in the future society.
Although Korea has transformed itself into the country with the world's best e-government as stated above, its human and technical infrastructure is weak due to the provider-centered and government-led nature of its IT projects, the inefficient operation of its information resources, security accidents, and the unbalanced growth of IT businesses.
As such, the Smart Gov Plan, which consists in upgrading the next-generation e-government plan reflected in the National Information Society Master Plan (January 2008) to reflect the changes in the information society paradigm and the future social environment and in strengthening the country's competitiveness as the global e-government leader, is to be published.

The five agenda are: World's Best Mobile e-Government, Safe and Warm-hearted Society, Smart Work Aimed at Balancing Professional and Personal Lives, Communication-Based Customized Service to Citizens, and e-Government Infrastructure with Sound Foundations