Government seeks to enhance transparency in generating statistics in Seoul

The government will push to enhance transparency and independence in the process of generating and utilizing statistics by preventing inappropriate outside influences, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday. "There has been criticism that independence was compromised in the process of announcing some statistical findings," Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told a national statistics committee meeting held in Seoul. "(We) will prohibit leaks and inappropriate influence peddling in the process of generating statistics while also preventing their use for purposes other than their intended ones," he said, adding that the government is pushing to enact a law to that end. The move comes after a local newspaper reported in June that Statistics Korea was supposed to announce its newly crafted Gini coefficient figures in November last year ahead of the presidential election, but failed to do so in the face of what it claims was mounting political pressure from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. The allegation sparked controversy that the agency might be exposed to political influence in generating and utilizing major data that could be critical in accurately analyzing economic conditions. Hyun, who concurrently serves as deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, also said that the government will work hard to narrow the gap between statistical indications related to jobs, inflation, household income and how people actually feel in their lives.