Performance Management Reforms in South Korea 1

Government performance always draws attention from both practitioners and scholars of public administration. In particular, the literature of new public management and recent reform initiatives emphasize the significance of performance management and performance measurement as a way to ensure public accountability at local and national levels of government (Abramson, Breul, and Kamensky 2006; Moynihan 2008; Radin 2006; Sanger 2008). Much of the literature on performance management comes from Western countries; however, practice of performance management has been spread across the globe, and various performance management practices are now found in many Asian countries (Moon and Walker 2007). Of course, Korea is no exception to this trend.