An Overview of Legal Changes to the Ombudsman of Korea

Since the 30th of October, 2005

Mr President and distinguished guests,

I would like to take this opportunity to express gratitude to Ms Alice Tai and all staff of the Ombudsman of Hong Kong for their hospitality and sincere support. As a new Chief Ombudsman of Korea, it is my great pleasure to meet with other AOA members and introduce new changes to my office.

In 2005, the Ombudsman of Korea underwent a significant change as a result of the promulgation of a new law that ensures independence and the stronger authority of the Ombudsman.

Previously, the Ombudsman of Korea was operated under the command of the Prime Minister's Office. Starting from October 30th of this year, the status of the office has been elevated by being transferred to the command of the President of Korea. As a result of the change, the principle that the Ombudsman should maintain independence can be better practiced.

Furthermore, under this new act, the office strengthens its capacity of investigation of maladministration. The following is a list of some of the new functions:

a)	The new law clearly indicates the tenure and job descriptions of ombudsmen (including the chief ombudsman).

b)	The Ombudsman has the right to impose fines on the government agencies that cause a delay for illegitimate reasons and distract the investigation process. The office can even request further inspection by the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea in order to come up with better solutions.

c)	If the office concludes that a complaint is concerned with certain fundamental problems in institution and legislation, the Ombudsman may suggest the Korean National Assembly and the Government should review them and consider legislative changes.

Corresponding changes in the status of the office and civil servants in the government structure, budget, and personnel also followed the legal changes that were made. The chief ombudsman was promoted equivalent to a cabinet member. The budget was doubled and the new law resulted in the hiring of fifty-nine new civil experts to meet the more diversified demands of citizens.

Moreover, the office will be able to deal with enquiries of complainants with improved service, thereby ensuring greater accessibility for citizens to government administration. For example, all investigation should be done within ninety days, not sixty days, and the procedures from investigation to resolution now comprise five steps, not seven.

The Ombudsman of Korea hopes to distribute further details about these legal changes and the new jurisdiction of the Ombudsman of Korea when the Ministry of Government Legislation publishes the English translation of the new law.

I would like to invite anyone interested in activities of the Ombudsman of Korea and its role as a regional vice president of International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) to visit our website.

Thank you.