Second Vice Minister of Government Policy Coordination Nam Hyung Ki on Nov. 22 gives a briefing on the 2024 Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development at Government Complex-Seoul in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Yoo Yeon Gyeong

The country is No. 1 in two of the three Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance among the 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) under the Prime Minister's Secretariat on Nov. 25 said the nation led the OECD in regulatory impact assessment and ex post evaluation and administrative simplification.

This is the first time for the country to lead the OECD's regulatory policy evaluation, which was launched in 2015 and released every three years. The latest figures are based on the regulatory policies of the organization's 38 member states from 2021-23.

Korea also topped the OECD's transparency index, which was launched this year to assess the range and accessibility of regulatory data disclosure.

Pundits in and out of the government consider the latest rankings the result of the incumbent administration's proactive policy toward regulatory innovation including analyses and reviews of regulatory effects; launch of the Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting chaired by the president and the prime minister; and founding of the Bureau of Regulatory Innovation and Reform under the prime minister.

The OPC said, "Since May 2022, we have finished streamlining about 2,900 regulations and expect an economic effect worth about KRW 148 trillion."

dusrud21@korea.kr