Presentation
ECRC Korea: Efficient Government Initiative and Inter-agency Coordination in Implementing IT Policy for Industry

Dr. Kyung-hye Park
Manager of Electronic Commerce Resource Centre, Korea Institute of Electronic Commerce, Korea

The Electric Commerce Resource Center (ECRC) Program is sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and is operated through prime contracts with the Korea Institute for Electronic Commerce (KIEC).

In e-commerce, government policies can be divided into four categories: network, social recognition, market and legislation. The installation of optic cable in almost all main regions has been completed and the installation of the information superhighway will be completed by 2005. The e-commerce market is rapidly growing in Korea, with a great enthusiasm for business-to-business e-commerce.

The Korea e-commerce policy framework has encouraged mission critical sectors: to enhance reliability, to expand e-commerce infrastructure, to promote public sector e-commerce, to promote industrial sector e-commerce and to ensure the infrastructure for cyber international trade. A total of 16 ministries are in the process of formulating and implementing e-commerce policies.

The KIEC is a policy research and promotion agency, which was established under the Basic Law on Electronic Commerce to realize government policies supporting e-commerce. The KIEC works to promote and develop policies and create the environment for e-commerce in a digital economy. With expertise in law, technology and policy, KIEC seeks practical solutions to enhance the development of e-commerce in Korea. KIEC has three main activities: e-commerce promotion, trust and infra making, and development & dissemination of standards. In order to promote e-commerce nationwide, KIEC is enforcing local ECRCs. Based on the strengthened ECRC as a local e-commerce promotion center, KIEC aims to deliver experts, support B2B business, and provide consultation to companies.

As an initial step, the Korean government has been seriously concerned with the digital divide in economy and between regions. In addition, there is a strong need to let SMEs move into e-Business. The main role of the ECRC, as a regional center, is to disseminate and promote e-commerce. ECRCs provide such services as educational training, technology transfer, and information services related to e-commerce. The program began about three years ago and now there are 40 government funded ECRCs and 7 ECRC linkage centers.

The critical roles of ECRCs fall into four categories: education and training; consulting and technology support; e-commerce information sharing; and international cooperation. Each regional ECRC conducts education and training, consultation and technical support and outreach activities to identify and meet individual customer needs. Many of the services may be free to manufacturing organizations through the supply chains in each ECRC region.

The ECRC provides consulting services at the client's location to identify specific problems that can be resolved utilizing e-commerce technologies. The ECRC reaches out to clients to make them aware of e-commerce, technologies and the benefits they can bring to an enterprise. KIEC participates in trade shows, hosts workshops and seminars, and gives presentations. Each ECRC operates a website with current information about outreach activities, education and training classes. ECRC also engages in international cooperation to exchange e-commerce information and implement know-how. The ECRC serves as a catalyst for a vast network of small and medium sized enterprises to adopt electronic commerce in Korea.