ASEAN and ROK to Share Public Service Innovation, Solidifying Cooperation
- ASEAN-ROK Exhibition and Ministerial Roundtable on Public Service Innovation to be Held in Busan -

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), led by Minister Chin Young, announced on November 19 that the ASEAN-ROK Exhibition on Public Service Innovation and the ASEAN-ROK Ministerial Roundtable on Public Service Innovation will be held at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center from November 25 through 27.
The Exhibition and Roundtable are held on the sidelines of the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit that takes place from November 25 to 26 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the dialogue partnership between ASEAN and the Republic of Korea.
ASEAN has become one of the most important foreign policy agenda of the Republic of Korea under the Moon Jae-in administration’s New Southern Policy. Since established in 1989, the partnership between ASEAN and Korea has grown exponentially with a 20-fold increase in the bilateral trading volume from 8.2 billion to 160 billion dollars and a more than 100-fold increase in the number of visitors travelling from ASEAN to Korea and vice-versa.
To date, MOIS has strengthened its cooperation with ASEAN member states, sending out the Korea-ASEAN Public Administration Cooperation Corps to Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand, opening the Korea-Indonesia E-Government Cooperation Center, and running a local government capacity building program in Cambodia.
This year’s ASEAN-ROK Ministerial Roundtable on Public Service Innovation is the second one after the first roundtable in 2014, and MOIS is planning to take this opportunity to look back on the accomplishments over the past five years and seek ways of further cooperation and development in the years to come.
* Founded as an association of Southeast Asian nations in 1967, ASEAN has ten member states, namely Brunei (joined in 1994), Cambodia (joined in 1999), Indonesia (joined in 1967), Laos (joined in 1997), Malaysia (joined in 1967), Myanmar (joined in 1997), Philippines (joined in 1967), Singapore (joined in 1967), Thailand (joined in 1967), and Vietnam (joined in 1995).
The Exhibition on Public Service Innovation serves as a platform not only for Korea but for all the ten ASEAN member states in order to showcase in one place cooperation between ASEAN and Korea and innovation in public services.
The exhibition is themed on 3Ps, namely People, Peace, and Prosperity, which are the three guiding principles of the New Southern Policy. In line with the theme, the exhibition aims to care for the needs and first-hand experience of visitors and visiting organizations (people), share best practices and knowledge (prosperity and win-win partnership), and bring a harmonious atmosphere for participating countries, organizations, and visitors (peace and harmony).
Along with MOIS, the exhibition is going to be participated by other Korean government agencies, such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, Busan Metropolitan City, ten ASEAN member states, and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare among others.
The exhibition is composed of the Public Service Innovation Exhibit and the ASEAN Exhibit.
The Public Service Innovation Exhibit presents the Korean government’s innovative public services using the 4th industrial revolution technology, from the disaster response system using KT’s 5G networks to Busan’s electronic customs clearance system and smart traffic system using Internet of Things to automated immigration checks.
The ASEAN Exhibit displays innovative public services of the ten ASEAN member states, such as Thailand’s online Biz Portal, Indonesia’s complaint management platform, and Myanmar’s participatory development policy.
With particular note, the exhibition is expected to help identify potential joint projects and promote people-to-people exchanges between Korea and ASEAN as the heads of states attending the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit and the minister-level officials are going to visit the exhibition themselves
Meanwhile, the Ministerial Roundtable on Public Service Innovation will take place from 9:40 to 17:20 on November 26. The ministers in charge of public service innovation in Korea and ASEAN member states will gather in one place for a round of discussions under the theme of “Building better governance: bringing better future for all.”
ASEAN delegations headed by ministers, including Indonesia’s Minister Tjahjo Kumolo of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform and Lao Minister KhammanhSounvileuth of Home Affairs, as well as over 150 ASEAN officials and students who are studying in Korea will be attending the roundtable.
The roundtable will discuss three topics: Citizen Engagement and Government Innovation (Session 1); Digital Technologies and Public Services (Session 2); and Capacity-Building of Local Government and Regional Development (Session 3).
Each session will begin with presentations on participating countries’ public service innovation, followed by discussion on best practices to share and ways of further development.
One day before the roundtable, on November 25, Minister Chin Young of the Interior and Safety will have bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Laos in order to have an in-depth discussion on matters of mutual interest.
On the occasion of the roundtable and the exhibition, MOIS is hoping for a platform for cooperation to bring the New Southern Policy into action with the guiding principles of 3Ps (People, Prosperity, andPeace).
To be more specific, MOIS aims to improve people’s lives in Korea and ASEAN by building better administrative system and public services (people), promote common prosperity in the public service sector by sharing Korea’s exemplary public services and ASEAN’s key public service innovation with one another (prosperity), and further develop the friendly relations between Korea and ASEAN by enhancing mutual understanding in the public service sector and discussing in depth new ways of cooperation through high-level bilateral meetings (peace).
Minister Chin Young noted, “I believe that the New Southern Policy aiming for a community for peace and prosperity will gain momentum after this gathering.” He then added, “It is my hope that win-win partnership between Korea and ASEAN will further strengthen by sharing our experiences in public service innovation and solidifying our cooperation.”