From e-Government to Digital Government

Recent Advances and Lessons Learned From the Korean Experience

Abstract

Despite significant progress in e-government initiatives across many developing countries, as reflected in the UN e-Government Development Index (EGDI), several nations—particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa—continue to face substantial challenges. These include inadequate IT infrastructure, low digital literacy, severe budget constraints, bureaucratic resistance to change, among others. Sharing lessons from successful countries in building digital government can provide valuable guidance to these nations. This is can helping them to consolidate best practices and overcome common pitfalls. To this end, this study highlights the key success factors, experiences, and lessons learned from the development of Korea's digital government. Beginning with the computerization and informatization eras and progressing to the current digital transformation era, Korea has pursued advancements over the past 40 years that have laid the foundation for its emergence as one of the leading countries in e-government and the digital revolution. This workr explores and emphasizes the socio-technical development pillars and elaborates on the key services provided. It also summarizes the challenges encountered and lessons learned. The paper employs qualitative methods to examine how the core policies of Korean e-government were formulated and implemented. It includes document analysis and reviews of key stakeholder websites..