Basic Report

  
  
  
  
    The Public Service Charter (PSC) is seen as a cornerstone in customer-satisfactory administration because it upholds customer- oriented, not supplier-oriented, public services. The ultimate purpose of the PSC is to satisfy customer demand by improving the quality of public services. In other words, the PSC was established in order to provide appropriate public services more efficiently as well as to respond to the demands of citizens more flexibly. However, there have been plenty of debate and controversy over the effectiveness of the charter since 1998, when the central government of Korea adopted the document. To disentangle this controversial issue, this study examines the relationship between the PSC and the quality of public services through diverse empirical investigations and surveys of public officials and citizens.
   According to the result of this research, there is no doubt that the PSC has made considerable contributions to advancing the quality of public services. Nevertheless, not all the outcomes of the PSC are positive. There are several parts that require adjustments in operating the PSC. In this respect, this study provides several guidelines not only for refining the PSC, but also for promoting governmental innovation through the charter. Several policy suggestions to develop the PSC, which can be an important part of government innovation in Korea, are proposed as follows. The first policy suggestions are based on literature review: (1) reinforcement of the legal basis; (2) bolstering service-providing organizations; (3) increasing budgets on public services; (4) standardization of terminologies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of the PSC. The second policy suggestions are grounded on the results of empirical research: (1) The PSC should not be limited to narrow areas such as the customer-friendly attitude of public officials or the improvement of physical environments. (2) It is necessary to minimize the difference between the public officials' awareness of the quality of public services and the degree of citizens' satisfaction for the same services. (3) Public officials should not only be aware of the importance of the PSC, but also possess the willingness to achieve the goals of the PSC. (4) Compensation systems, which motivate public officials, have to be established. The third policy suggestions are related to the enhancement of government innovation by operating the PSC: (1) increasing public officials' competence by executing performance evaluation systems; (2) promoting citizen-participation in the processes of the PSC　enactment and amendment; (3) diversifying public services to meet customer preferences; (4) intensifying public-private partnerships in providing public services; (5) establishing and utilizing many government organization networks; (6) enhancing customer-oriented systems for their satisfaction; and (7) utilizing a self-development journal for customer satisfaction.