Under current regulations, restrictions on public institution information resources that can use private cloud services

There are growing calls to adopt cloud technology in the public sector.

On the 6th, Vice Minister Kim Yong-soo of the Ministry of Science and ICT held the third '4th Empathy' at Naver Green Factory in Bundang, Gyeonggi-do, and discussed 'measures to promote the adoption of cloud in the public sector' with various public and private experts.

This event was organized to discuss the causes and alternatives for the slow pace of adoption in the field, as the government has continuously urged the public sector to adopt the private cloud following the enactment of the Cloud Computing Act in 2015.

The meeting was attended by about 30 experts, including members of the 4th Empathy Software (SW) Subcommittee, cloud companies, public institutions, academia, and associations, and was moderated by Noh Kyung-won, Director General of Software Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, and lasted for about two hours.

Prior to the discussion, Vice Minister Kim Yong-soo stated, “The paradigm of information resource utilization is rapidly shifting globally to a cloud-based approach,” adding, “As a core foundation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the cloud will drive innovation not only in the public sector but across all industries.”

Lee Woo-jin, Head of the Software Promotion Division at the Ministry of Science and ICT, introduced the government's cloud policy direction and presented various support programs, including the direction of ongoing cloud-related institutional improvements and leading projects for the public sector's use of private cloud services.

Lee Jae-ho, Head of the National Information Society Agency (NIA), shared opinions from public institutions and companies gathered through the operation of the NIA Public Cloud Support Center and consulting projects, and also introduced excellent adoption cases.

Many attendees expressed the opinion that while the government encourages public institutions to prioritize the use of private cloud services through laws and basic plans, there are no incentives for adoption and the usage procedures are cumbersome.

In particular, it was stated that under the current usage guidelines, the information resources of public institutions that can actually utilize private cloud services are extremely limited.

Furthermore, it was stated that although there are many public services in each local government that are convenient to use cloud services—such as regional festivals, community centers, lifelong education centers, facility corporations (parking, etc.), park management, and tourist information—there are limitations due to the lack of established guidelines or regulations for the use of private cloud services by local governments.

Meanwhile, public institutions pointed out that the procedures for using private cloud services are somewhat complex, and due to issues regarding budget items and execution methods for paying cloud usage fees, support for a distribution system suitable for cloud services (pay-as-you-go) is necessary, which differs from existing equipment or goods contracting methods.

Lee Seon-woo, Head of KT’s Corporate Services Division, emphasized, “Cloud services provided to the public sector are safer than general systems because they are not only physically separated in accordance with government (Korea Internet & Security Agency) certification requirements, but also enable real-time monitoring and response to intrusion incidents by utilizing dual firewalls and further isolating critical information systems.”

Vice Minister Kim Yong-soo stated that he would pursue effective cloud policies that fully consider the voices of the field, such as preparing plans to promote cloud activation next year based on the discussions held today.

The Ministry of Science and ICT 201Based on the results of the 8-year demand survey and the survey targeting the public sector, we plan to continue discussing implementation measures with relevant ministries to expand the adoption of private cloud in the public sector, such as revising the guidelines for public institutions to use private cloud.