Three forest welfare agencies to come under one roof... KFS launches integration of public institutions

[Financial News] The Korea Forest Service (KFS) has launched work to integrate public institutions in the forest welfare sector. The aim is to improve operational efficiency by bringing together functions currently spread across different institutions and to unify the system for providing forest welfare services to the public.
The KFS said on the 28th that it would pursue the integration of public institutions related to forest welfare to improve the efficiency of public institution operations and unify the system for providing forest welfare services. The integration is part of the government’s Plan to Reform Public Institution Functions, and its core is to bring together the Korea Mountaineering and Trekking Support Center and Poi Partners Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Korea Forest Welfare Institute, with the institute at the center.
The integration is part of the government’s ongoing restructuring of public institutions. On September 3, the government announced its Public Institution Functional Reform Plan, which includes unifying similar or overlapping functions at public institutions and strengthening links between them. In response, each ministry is also moving to reorganize the institutions under its jurisdiction.
Through the integration, the KFS plans to connect functions and work currently dispersed across institutions, adjust similar or overlapping tasks, and improve administrative efficiency. Its plan is to develop the integrated organization into a comprehensive forest welfare institution that provides a broader range of higher-quality services, spanning forest culture, education and healing, as well as mountaineering, trekking and forest recreation sports.
The Korea Forest Welfare Institute, which will serve as the center of the integration, was established in April 2016 and is headquartered in Daejeon. It directly operates the National Forest Healing Center and the National Forest Education Center, and also identifies promising forest welfare projects and supports private companies with funding and consulting. Bringing together mountaineering and trekking support functions and the subsidiary’s work is expected to further expand the scope of forest welfare services.
To this end, the KFS formed a Public Institution Integration Task Force and held its first meeting that day. Participants shared the direction and schedule for the integration, as well as the task force’s role, and discussed what would be needed to ensure a smooth process. The KFS plans to work with the relevant institutions to flesh out the integration plan and proceed step by step with the necessary procedures, including revisions to related laws and systems.
Jo Young-hee, director general of the Forest Welfare Bureau at the KFS, said, “This integration will improve the efficiency of public institution operations and unify the forest welfare service system,” adding, “We will strengthen coordination and communication among the institutions and complete the integration smoothly and stably, without a hitch.”
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter