At a town hall meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and the public on Jan. 30, the Ministry of Interior and Safety and Presidential Committee of the Digital Platform Government announced plans for a "zero-document system" in which people can apply for civil or public services without the need to bring documents. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Dasom

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety on Sept. 19 said the country ranked fourth overall in the United Nations E-Government Survey 193 U.N. member countries and topped the online service category.

Since 2002, the world body has assessed the indexes of all member countries every two years in odd years and releases the results in even years. The evaluation criteria cover three indexes: online service, telecommunication infrastructure and human capital.

In the latest survey, Korea ranked fourth overall, down a notch from the previous list in 2022, but the online service index, or public perception of e-government policy, went up two places to No. 1.

Korea was fourth in the online participation index, a subcategory under online service showing participation in policy via online channels. This was a huge jump from ninth.

The country ranked 17th in human capital, up from 23rd, and sixth in telecommunication infrastructure.

The ministry said, "This result reflects high praise for the government's efforts to continuously open public data and expand opportunities for the people's online participation." 

Denmark topped this year's rankings, followed by Estonia and Singapore.

dlektha0319@korea.kr