January 13, 2016
Government Complex-Seoul


Dear members of the Ministry of the Interior,
I am very glad to see you all.

It is my great honor to join the Ministry of the Interior and work together with you.

As I prepared for my confirmation hearing, I was able to tell how much effort you have put into your job.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my predecessor Dr. Chong, Jong-sup for having laid the firm foundation for the development of the Ministry of the Interior.

Also, I would like to commend and praise the members of the Ministry of the Interior who have worked so hard at their posts and made a tremendous progress to date.


Members of the Ministry of the Interior,

The Republic of Korea is going through the time of crisis and challenge.

Despite the per capita income nudging 30,000 US dollars, we are suffering from daunting problems such as the uncertainty of the global economy and fast aging population.

As the President reiterated, we need to continue to pursue the national innovation, completing structural reforms in four sectors* in a swift manner.
* Finance, corporate, public, and labor

The reform drive will pave the way for sustainable development, making the country take another leap forward to the future.

Given that, the Ministry of the Interior has much work to do this year as a central ministry in charge of national agenda, and we will need to put our utmost effort to make substantial change and reforms.

With a wider vision and strong faith in carrying out the national innovation, please put every effort in everything you do.


As you well know, I have spent most of my public service career in the Office for Policy Coordination.

Looking back my long experience as a policy coordinator, I have come to realize that there are a number of walls and barriers between government agencies as well as in the society.

Change and innovation start with bringing down those barriers.

The Ministry of the Interior should take the lead in tearing down the barriers within the government. Willing to do what others won’t, we should take proactive actions when it comes to national agenda.

We also need to make the Ministry of the Interior more service-oriented to assist other ministries and local governments to do their work better.

When it comes to the fellow Koreans, we need to come closer to them, and ponder over what they really want and need and translate it into action.

In this regard, I would like to touch upon some of the important tasks lying ahead of the Ministry of the Interior.


First, we need to spread the Government 3.0 paradigm to a wider society.

Pursuing stronger cooperation within the government, we should make sure that no one has to visit many offices to get their benefits or misses out on public services.

Also, useful data held by the government should be released wide-open to encourage young entrepreneurs to create startups and new jobs.

From the viewpoint of the fellow Koreans, we also need to take a closer look at redundant or unnecessarily split functions within the government to reduce inefficiency.
Unnecessary organizations and workforce should be rearranged in an aggressive manner, so that the government becomes more productive and efficient.

This year marks the fourth anniversary of Government 3.0.

Now is high time to produce tangible results. Let us put our utmost effort to make Government 3.0 take root firmly as the fundamental principle of our society.

Second, we need to fully realize the grass-root local autonomy.

In order for local autonomy to be true to its name, it needs to blend into the lives of the people on the ground.

Local autonomy should not remain as it is. It cannot and should not be for mayors and governors, council members, or public officials.

This year, we will need to come up with specific tasks to realize the grass-root local autonomy and produce results.

In addition, we need to put an end to unnecessary regulations throughout the nation.

Repealing outdated local regulations, we can invigorate the regional economies.

In repealing local regulations, unreasonable behavioral regulations should be the first ones to eliminate.

I would like to ask you to find out practical ways to change the passive behaviors of public officials and build their capacity.

Third, we need to ensure sound management of local finance.

The Ministry of the Interior has carried out a fundamental structural reform for local finance since last year.

While we secure the firm tax base for local governments to exercise their discretion, we should also prevent the waste of financial resources.

Laying the institutional framework to ensure the soundness and reliability of local finance, we need to maintain the strong momentum for local finance reform.

As for the reform tasks that were already adopted, please keep track of them to make sure they are fully implemented on the ground and seek out what is missing.

In order to realize sound and dynamic local autonomy, I will always be out there with the people because the answers are out there.

To build a win-win partnership between the central and local governments, I will make sure that the governments at different levels communicate and cooperate closely.

Not only that, we need to pay more attention to the protection of personal data and further develop Korea’s e-government that is number one in the world.

Promoting Korea’s rural development model-Saemaul Undong-to a larger part of the world, international cooperation efforts should also continue.


Dear members of the Ministry of the Interior and the Korean National Policy Agency,

The 20th National Assembly Election is drawing near with only about 90 days ahead.

I will mobilize all the administrative capacity to ensure the fairness and integrity of the election.

I would like to ask you to work closely together with the related agencies such as the National Election Commission and tend to every detail of affairs concerning the election.

In particular, I will make sure to tighten the discipline on government officials to maintain their political neutrality in the election, and also to crack down on any illegal election campaigns.

For those officials who commit election offenses, they will face severe punishment regardless of their position in the government.

Again, I would like to ask your utmost effort in the fair management of the election, so that the generations to come will remember this election as the fair and clean one.


Members of the Ministry of the Interior,

As a new year of 2016 has dawned, we are standing at a crossroads to make our country to take another leap forward. At this critical juncture, change and innovation is not a matter of choice, but a must.

I would like to ask each and every one of you to be proud to be a member of the Ministry of the Interior that has long history, and take the lead in change and innovation.

With strong passion and enthusiasm, dedicate yourself to building a country where every citizen leads a happy life.

For any hardship that comes in the way of reform, I will always stand by your side and walk along the path as your strong partner.

I promise to talk with you often and listen to your voices with an open mind.

I will help you to live up to your full potential and make your hard work pay off.

I will also commit myself to a new way of working as you have done so. Let’s keep finding out and removing unnecessary things to do, encourage flexible working hours, and not work overtime on family days.

This way, we can make ourselves at home in the office where we communicate, discuss, and act together.

Let us join forces with each other to accomplish our great work for national reforms, and raise a hope for the future of our country.

Thank you.