Performance Evaluation of National Programs for Fiscal Year 2013 assesses national finance in-depth with respect to 23 aspects, including major issues of national finance, high-cost national projects, and inter-ministerial projects.
The tasks to be assessed were chosen in consultation with the standing committees and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts of the National Assembly in an effort to strengthen the linkage to account closing review by the standing committees. For more timely and effective evaluation, such tasks were selected with emphasis on national agenda. After a study on the programs of interest to each standing committee of the National Assembly, 10 tasks were assessed, out of the 22 tasks for which evaluation was requested.
Assessment of performance reports indicates that performance information on a substantial number of programs, such as performance indicators, performance targets, and measurement formulas, lacks validity and that there is no sufficient connection between performance records and budgets.
In some cases, the performance targets and management tasks were partially omitted in the setup of performance indicators. In other cases, outcome indicators were not sufficiently reflected, though it is generally desirable to use outcome indicators, as performance indicators, that show the ultimate effect of a program. There was also weak linkage between performance indicators and the actual achievement of performance targets and results of management tasks, which means that performance indicators often failed to represent actual performance of the programs concerned. For some programs, targets were so unambitious that they were nearly completely meaningless; evidentiary materials were not objective and transparent enough to validate the formulas to assess performance indicators; and management tasks were not designated in their performance reports even though they are hardly deemed an exceptional case.
In Performance Evaluation of National Programs for Fiscal Year 2013, assessment was carried out with respect to (i) comprehensive and inter-ministerial performance, (ii) economy and industry, and (iii) society and administration. Based on in-depth assessment findings, a total of 111 proposals were made including 59 requests for correction, 10 proposals for amendments to law, 24 proposals for performance management, and 18 proposals for budgeting.
Concerning society and administration, the following eight tasks were subject to evaluation: the foreign employment support project; the unemployment benefit program; home care services for underprivileged people; the environmental technology development project; the employment support project for career-interrupted women; the Tourism Promotion & Development Fund assistance project; the correctional facility expansion project; and the Pyeongtaek support project in line with base relocation of USFK (United States Forces Korea). Each task is summarized as follows: The foreign advance support program for youths lacks a well-defined implementation system. As a result, the oversight and coordination of each ministry’s foreign advance support project are hindered; comprehensive information on foreign advance is not provided; and some projects are ineffective. This situation certainly requires improvement. The Presidential Committee on Young Generation oversees the foreign advance support program for youths, but individual ministries have created new projects similar to it. The Korean government set up a comprehensive information network for each area of the foreign advance support program. Owing to exclusion of some related information, however, it is not in fact so comprehensive. The foreign employment support project for job-seeking youths (KRW 900 million) registered an execution rate of 15.7% in 2013, which attests to a need to formulate measures for better performance.
With respect to the unemployment benefit program, it is necessary to adjust the upper and lower limits of unemployment benefits and redress ineffective funding methods in connection with maternity protection benefits. For the purpose of maximizing the probability of reemployment of unemployment benefit recipients, it is also necessary to consider an increase in staff in charge of acknowledging unemployment. As of 2014, the difference between the upper and lower limits of daily job-seeking benefits is only KRW 2,488. The need to adjust them is clear, but the government has not proactively responded to the situation. The ratio of maternity protection benefit expenses to total unemployment benefit account expenditures rose from 2.8% in 2002 to 14.3% in 2013 without establishment of necessary funding methods. Since deployment of more staff engaged in unemployment acknowledgment translates into an increase in reemployment of unemployment benefit recipients and a decrease in exhaustive use of benefit days, such deployment warrants serious consideration.
There is a need to enhance the quality of home care services for underprivileged people by employing more rigorous standards for institutions and persons providing such services and to widen the scope of eligibility for the services. For higher-quality care services, more stringent standards must be adopted for the facilities and staff at institutions; higher employment qualifications must be imposed on their staff and refresher training for them upgraded; and the treatment of the staff must be improved. Blind spots in care services need to be eliminated by widening the scope of eligibility for general elderly care services and housekeeping & nursing care services. It is also necessary to devise measures to raise the utilization rate of support services for the disabled.
For the environmental technology development project, concrete and objective evaluation standards inducing tangible outcomes such as commercialization and patents must be established. Of 1,349 tasks under the next-generation core environmental technology development project, 136 tasks were finally dubbed ‘successful’ even though they have generated no outcomes according to four performance indicators, i.e. product sales, construction, intellectual property rights, and publication in academic journals. For efficient execution of and stronger accountability for the environmental technology development project, it is necessary to bolster tracking and assessment of underperforming tasks and consider introduction of penalties.
Concerning the employment support project for career-interrupted women, there is a need to strengthen the link between vocational training and employment and enhance the quality of their new jobs. As a substantial number of vocational trainees are unemployed, there exists a low level of consistency between the types of vocational training and the industry of their employment. In addition, there is concern that the gender gap in wages may widen given that the annual average wages in the social and welfare service industries (where a significant number of vocational trainees find employment) and the beauty treatment, hospitality, and food service industries (which account for a high percentage of vocational training courses) are below the annual average wage of entire industries.
The execution of the Tourism Promotion & Development Fund assistance project by local governments has been found to be inadequate, with its performance management remaining unsatisfactory. The actual subsidy disbursement ratio by local governments is only 51.2%, pointing to the need to provide subsidies to them after a thorough prior review. Despite its low budget execution ratio, an assistance program to revitalize special tourism zones attained very ambitious performance targets, which implies that performance indicators fail to adequately reflect actual performance. Obviously, proper performance indicators must be set up.
In regard of the correctional facility expansion project, the aging and overcrowding of facilities attest to the clear need for facility expansion. However, this project has not been implemented as planned due to unavailability of land and lack of funding. As a long-term improvement task, it is necessary to examine expansion of support for the areas surrounding correctional facilities. As short-term improvement tasks, (i) expansion of residents’ convenience facilities, (ii) organization of a conflict mediation council, and (iii) practical separation of detention centers and prisons may be explored to secure land. If such land is procured, central government funding may be considered to help close any funding shortfall.
Concerning the Pyeongtaek support project in line with the base relocation of the USFK, it is imperative to devise measures that substantively promote the international exchange center, push for some of the modified programs pursued by the Pyeongtaek municipal government after their feasibility is proven, and establish security actions in accordance with a five-fold increase in American men in uniform in the area. The substantive development of the international exchange center needs to be pursued including creation of programs involving US troops. Regarding construction of the hall of peace and art, a preliminary feasibility study must be conducted before the Pyeongtaek municipal government commences construction. Since a five-fold increase in US forces entails a risk of sparking greater frictions between Pyeongtaek residents and American troops, it is necessary to formulate separate security measures, including police force expansion.
The tasks to be assessed were chosen in consultation with the standing committees and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts of the National Assembly in an effort to strengthen the linkage to account closing review by the standing committees. For more timely and effective evaluation, such tasks were selected with emphasis on national agenda. After a study on the programs of interest to each standing committee of the National Assembly, 10 tasks were assessed, out of the 22 tasks for which evaluation was requested.
Assessment of performance reports indicates that performance information on a substantial number of programs, such as performance indicators, performance targets, and measurement formulas, lacks validity and that there is no sufficient connection between performance records and budgets.
In some cases, the performance targets and management tasks were partially omitted in the setup of performance indicators. In other cases, outcome indicators were not sufficiently reflected, though it is generally desirable to use outcome indicators, as performance indicators, that show the ultimate effect of a program. There was also weak linkage between performance indicators and the actual achievement of performance targets and results of management tasks, which means that performance indicators often failed to represent actual performance of the programs concerned. For some programs, targets were so unambitious that they were nearly completely meaningless; evidentiary materials were not objective and transparent enough to validate the formulas to assess performance indicators; and management tasks were not designated in their performance reports even though they are hardly deemed an exceptional case.
In Performance Evaluation of National Programs for Fiscal Year 2013, assessment was carried out with respect to (i) comprehensive and inter-ministerial performance, (ii) economy and industry, and (iii) society and administration. Based on in-depth assessment findings, a total of 111 proposals were made including 59 requests for correction, 10 proposals for amendments to law, 24 proposals for performance management, and 18 proposals for budgeting.
Concerning society and administration, the following eight tasks were subject to evaluation: the foreign employment support project; the unemployment benefit program; home care services for underprivileged people; the environmental technology development project; the employment support project for career-interrupted women; the Tourism Promotion & Development Fund assistance project; the correctional facility expansion project; and the Pyeongtaek support project in line with base relocation of USFK (United States Forces Korea). Each task is summarized as follows: The foreign advance support program for youths lacks a well-defined implementation system. As a result, the oversight and coordination of each ministry’s foreign advance support project are hindered; comprehensive information on foreign advance is not provided; and some projects are ineffective. This situation certainly requires improvement. The Presidential Committee on Young Generation oversees the foreign advance support program for youths, but individual ministries have created new projects similar to it. The Korean government set up a comprehensive information network for each area of the foreign advance support program. Owing to exclusion of some related information, however, it is not in fact so comprehensive. The foreign employment support project for job-seeking youths (KRW 900 million) registered an execution rate of 15.7% in 2013, which attests to a need to formulate measures for better performance.
With respect to the unemployment benefit program, it is necessary to adjust the upper and lower limits of unemployment benefits and redress ineffective funding methods in connection with maternity protection benefits. For the purpose of maximizing the probability of reemployment of unemployment benefit recipients, it is also necessary to consider an increase in staff in charge of acknowledging unemployment. As of 2014, the difference between the upper and lower limits of daily job-seeking benefits is only KRW 2,488. The need to adjust them is clear, but the government has not proactively responded to the situation. The ratio of maternity protection benefit expenses to total unemployment benefit account expenditures rose from 2.8% in 2002 to 14.3% in 2013 without establishment of necessary funding methods. Since deployment of more staff engaged in unemployment acknowledgment translates into an increase in reemployment of unemployment benefit recipients and a decrease in exhaustive use of benefit days, such deployment warrants serious consideration.
There is a need to enhance the quality of home care services for underprivileged people by employing more rigorous standards for institutions and persons providing such services and to widen the scope of eligibility for the services. For higher-quality care services, more stringent standards must be adopted for the facilities and staff at institutions; higher employment qualifications must be imposed on their staff and refresher training for them upgraded; and the treatment of the staff must be improved. Blind spots in care services need to be eliminated by widening the scope of eligibility for general elderly care services and housekeeping & nursing care services. It is also necessary to devise measures to raise the utilization rate of support services for the disabled.
For the environmental technology development project, concrete and objective evaluation standards inducing tangible outcomes such as commercialization and patents must be established. Of 1,349 tasks under the next-generation core environmental technology development project, 136 tasks were finally dubbed ‘successful’ even though they have generated no outcomes according to four performance indicators, i.e. product sales, construction, intellectual property rights, and publication in academic journals. For efficient execution of and stronger accountability for the environmental technology development project, it is necessary to bolster tracking and assessment of underperforming tasks and consider introduction of penalties.
Concerning the employment support project for career-interrupted women, there is a need to strengthen the link between vocational training and employment and enhance the quality of their new jobs. As a substantial number of vocational trainees are unemployed, there exists a low level of consistency between the types of vocational training and the industry of their employment. In addition, there is concern that the gender gap in wages may widen given that the annual average wages in the social and welfare service industries (where a significant number of vocational trainees find employment) and the beauty treatment, hospitality, and food service industries (which account for a high percentage of vocational training courses) are below the annual average wage of entire industries.
The execution of the Tourism Promotion & Development Fund assistance project by local governments has been found to be inadequate, with its performance management remaining unsatisfactory. The actual subsidy disbursement ratio by local governments is only 51.2%, pointing to the need to provide subsidies to them after a thorough prior review. Despite its low budget execution ratio, an assistance program to revitalize special tourism zones attained very ambitious performance targets, which implies that performance indicators fail to adequately reflect actual performance. Obviously, proper performance indicators must be set up.
In regard of the correctional facility expansion project, the aging and overcrowding of facilities attest to the clear need for facility expansion. However, this project has not been implemented as planned due to unavailability of land and lack of funding. As a long-term improvement task, it is necessary to examine expansion of support for the areas surrounding correctional facilities. As short-term improvement tasks, (i) expansion of residents’ convenience facilities, (ii) organization of a conflict mediation council, and (iii) practical separation of detention centers and prisons may be explored to secure land. If such land is procured, central government funding may be considered to help close any funding shortfall.
Concerning the Pyeongtaek support project in line with the base relocation of the USFK, it is imperative to devise measures that substantively promote the international exchange center, push for some of the modified programs pursued by the Pyeongtaek municipal government after their feasibility is proven, and establish security actions in accordance with a five-fold increase in American men in uniform in the area. The substantive development of the international exchange center needs to be pursued including creation of programs involving US troops. Regarding construction of the hall of peace and art, a preliminary feasibility study must be conducted before the Pyeongtaek municipal government commences construction. Since a five-fold increase in US forces entails a risk of sparking greater frictions between Pyeongtaek residents and American troops, it is necessary to formulate separate security measures, including police force expansion.