The Meeting of the Board of Directors

International Ombudsman Institute (IOI)

7-9 November, 2005

Asian Regional Report

By Mr. Song Chul-ho,

Chief Ombudsman, the Ombudsman of Korea

Introduction

In April 2004, Mr. Song Chul-ho succeeded Mr. Cho Young-hoang, who prematurely finished his term as he was appointed the Commissioner of the Human Rights Committee. During the transitional period, Mr. Cheung U, ombudsman of Macau, kindly agreed to be an acting vice-president of the Asian region. The Republic of Korea would like to extend extraordinary gratitude to Mr. Cheung U and Ms. Alice Tai for their supports to facilitate the succession process. This regional report is prepared to give a quick overview of the recent developments in Asia.

Membership

There is likely to be some changes in the member list of Asia as a result of the board meeting.

�	Thailand: the Ombudsman of Thailand (institutional member) requested their membership should be upgraded from Associate Membership. The Secretary's Report 2005 circulated before this meeting confirmed that the request was admitted.

�	Indonesia: At the time of the publication of this report, the board meeting requested Asian regional vice president to consider awarding R. M. Surachman, deputy ombudsman of Indonesia, individual membership.

Changes to Ombudsman

There have been several new appointments of ombudsman and legislative changes across Asia.

�	Japan: The Administration Evaluation Bureau recently appointed a new chief ombudsman. The name of the incoming bureau chief is Mr. Ryoji Fukui.

�	Korea: The Ombudsman of Korea underwent a significant change as a result of the promulgation of a new independent law that stipulates the independent and stronger authority of the Ombudsman.

The legal change was followed by corresponding changes in its status in the government structure, budget, and personnel: its status was elevated to the ministry-level. Its budget was doubled and recently hired 59 new employees to meet the more diversified demands.

Previously, the Ombudsman of Korea was operated under the command of the Prime Minister and since 30 October this year, its status is elevated to the President's command. As a result of the change, the principle that the Ombudsman should maintain independent operating rights can be better practiced. Furthermore, under this new act, the office strengthens its capacity of investigation of maladministration: for example, the Ombudsman has the right to impose fines to the concerned government agencies and to request further inspection to the Korea Board of Inspection and Audit in order to come up with better solutions. In the event of finding fundamental problems in institution and regulation, the Ombudsman may suggest the Korean National Assembly and Government should review them and consider legislative changes.

** For further information, please contact our office or visit our webpage, www. ombudsman.go.kr.

Main Activities

It appears that there were increasing intra-regional exchanges in Asia this year than any other year. The Chief Ombudsman of Ethiopia visited the Ombudsman of Korea in May 2005 in conjunction with the government Innovation Convention held in Seoul. In July 2005, Indonesia's deputy ombudsman visited Hong Kong and Macau to exchange experience. Macau strengthened ties with Southeast Asian counterparts when its delegation visited Thailand and Malaysia this year. In return, Thailand plans to visit Macau and Hong Kong sometime soon. Asian members will gather together for the meeting of Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) in Hong Kong at the end of November, 2005. These recent developments are encouraging in that members become more enthusiastic in exchanging information and experience with each other, both in bilateral and multilateral ways.

Outlook of Regional Activities

There is a consensus in Asia that it is necessary to promote active intra-regional exchanges in order to promote the role of ombudsman in more effectively dealing with complaints due to misadministration and eventually promoting civil rights. As a regional vice president, Korea will try to be responsive to new and diversified demands among Asian members and take up this opportunity to play a larger role in reinforcing regional cooperation in Asia.