Performance Management Reforms in South Korea

This chapter describes the performance management reform initiatives introduced by the Korean government at four different managerial dimensions, including organizational management, human resource management, financial management, and evaluation management. It discusses resistance faced by traditional values in the course of pursuing performance management reform as well as various challenges to successful implementation of the reforms. Performance improvement in the Korean government is adopted in four different areas: Organization, human resources, finance, and evaluation. The chapter describes two initiatives that the government has introduced: Team-based structure and “agencification.” In the late 1990s, the Korean government started to transform internal structures within the government to achieve better performance rather than to reduce costs. Rule-based bureaucratic controls and regulations discourage better performance. The Korean government has attempted not only to diversify staffing for more talented candidates but also to diffuse performance-related pay as well as a performance agreement system.