The government has classified over 900 financial projects for reduction and consolidation through this year's integrated financial project performance evaluation. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance plans to link the evaluation results to expenditure restructuring and project improvements, with guidelines for enhancing on-site acceptance to be established by the end of the year.
On June 26, Minister Park Hong-keun held a luncheon meeting with the integrated financial project evaluation team in Jung-gu, Seoul, to discuss directions for improving the evaluation system.
During the meeting, Minister Park stated, "This year marks the inaugural year of the integrated financial project performance evaluation, and we have achieved significant results with 901 projects, accounting for 36.2% of the total evaluations, being targeted for reduction and consolidation."
The integrated evaluation was conducted over four months, covering 2,487 financial projects. The 36.2% target ratio for reduction and consolidation is the highest on record, more than double the 15.8% rate of projects deemed insufficient in self-evaluations over the past five years.
Minister Park described the evaluation as a crucial first step in enhancing the efficiency and accountability of financial management from the perspective of the public, laying the groundwork for performance-based financial operations.
He emphasized that the financial project performance evaluation serves as a compass to determine how effectively national finances operate for the benefit of citizens, going beyond merely assessing projects.
However, as this is the first year of the system's implementation, the need for improvements was also raised. Minister Park noted, "No matter how good the system's intent, if it does not function on the ground, it is a failed system," and expressed a desire to hear the voices from the field, including the challenges identified during the evaluation process.
Evaluation committee members shared their concerns about the limitations and challenges of having to review a vast number of projects in a short period. Suggestions were made to utilize collective evaluation methods, such as joint assessments, to enhance the fairness and professionalism of the evaluations.
There were also calls for the establishment of an online-based tracking management system to systematically manage the evaluation process and improve efficiency. A consensus was reached on the need to strengthen feedback mechanisms to ensure that evaluation results lead to actual expenditure restructuring and project improvements.
Minister Park stated, "I will carefully review the entire process of the integrated evaluation's first year, including the issues raised today, and refine the system to better reflect the voices from the field."
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance plans to comprehensively gather opinions from the evaluation team and others involved in this year's evaluation to establish guidelines for next year's integrated financial project performance evaluation by the end of the year.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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