The agenda team recommended the rapid reduction and restructuring of the government and its organizations because under the President Kim Dae-jung administration, the country's finances have deteriorated due to a drastic increase of the national debt, and while intervention has decreased with the easing of regulations, government organizations grew in size and number.

Experts noted that the government organization has too much redundancy compared to competitive and advanced countries. They advise the removal of unnecessary regulations and the reduction of size to increase efficiency and competitiveness.

Koryo University Professor Park Young-chul and Hanyang University Professor Na Sung-lim recommend the consolidation of 18 ministries, four offices and 16 agencies to between 12, two and 18, respectively. In advanced countries, ministries number between 11 and 15 for efficiency; the US and Japan have a respective 14 and 12 such organizations. They criticize the country's cabinet meetings, which they characterize as a meeting of 22 minister level officials listening to a lecture by the president, and not a forum for discussion.

Other experts say the Cheong Wa Dae secretaries kept authority created by military dictatorships and intervened in ministries and agencies, and recommend they be relegated to functioning as the president's staff only. They propose that senior secretaries should be demoted to below deputy ministerial level and their numbers cut from eight to six. In addition they say decision making should be carried out by ministers, while the prime minister's role should be augmented to allow him to supervise and coordinate the cabinet.

Analysts state the next government should not simply reduce the number of civil servants as this administration did, but should focus on cost saving, streamlining and improved efficiency. The say the cost of the civil service should be pared from the current 3.3 percent of GDP to three percent.

The team proposed changing the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Planning and Budget, and Financial Supervisory Service into the Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Economic Planning and Coordination, as the MOFE and FSS duplicate each other's actions with regard to financial policy. Also the minister at the MOFE has enormous responsibility with no control over the budget thereby being limited in coordination between related organizations. Alternatively the FSS should merge with the Financial Services Commission, minus the policy determination function, and made into a private organization

It also determined the current Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade failed to carry out its trade mission, and so proposed this should be moved to a trade committee, similar to the USTR, under a deputy prime minister at the MEPB.

In addition members proposed the newly created Ministry of Foreign Affairs should absorb the Ministry of Unification, getting rid of redundant agencies.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development should lose most of its power and be responsible only for basic education policy, focusing on human resource development. Tertiary education should be autonomous, while local school boards would control primary and secondary. In addition the Ministries of Science and Technology, and Labor Affairs human resources development teams would be merged with the MOEHRD.

Also ministries created by political self-interest and civil servants such as the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Information and Communication should be merged into the Ministry of Industrial Resources; and the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry, and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries into the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The team recommended the Ministry of Health and Welfare to absorb the Ministry of Gender Equality, which would be reduced to an agency, as should the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs.

)