S. Korea seeking to join Kazakhstan's e-gov't project

SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea promoted its electronic government solutions in Kazakhstan Wednesday as part of efforts to tap into a mammoth state project to digitalize public administration in the central Asian country. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety here said Vice Minister Shim Bo-kyun attended a "Digital Kazakhstan" event in Astana at the invitation of the Kazakh government. The 1.3 trillion won (US$1.15 billion) project was initiated by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to improve the country's e-government system and information communications sector. The project is scheduled for completion in 2020. The two governments also organized a forum to share Korea's e-government solutions and experiences. The state-run National Information Society Agency introduced South Korea's open public data and intelligent city systems during the conference. The ministry said it plans to dispatch e-government experts to support the Digital Kazakhstan project. "Digital Kazakhstan is a good opportunity to make use of Korea's e-government experience and know-how. We will endeavor to help Korean businesses join the project," Shim said. South Korea topped the U.N.'s biennial e-government survey three consecutive times starting in 2010. (END)