[Free Speech Forum] Stop Developing Unnecessary Government Apps

Zero Delivery Union was a public project pursued with a massive budget, but its results were dismal. We must examine whether a public delivery app that intervened in the market of private delivery apps can sustain itself and maintain an optimistic outlook.

The usage rate of the government-developed public delivery app, “Zero Delivery Union,” was low. For a public delivery app to become active, competitiveness in the market is essential. The public delivery app promoted by the government showed no clear distinction from private delivery apps in terms of delivery fees or delivery time, in addition to its inconvenient interface. Compared with private delivery apps, it was weak in the area of convenience and was therefore ignored by consumers.

The process of developing and maintaining Zero Delivery Union also incurred enormous costs. The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued Seoul Love Gift Certificates worth KRW 120 billion and offered discounts of up to 20% when the vouchers were used on Zero Delivery Union. In other words, enormous state finances—that is, taxpayers’ money—were used to attract users to Zero Delivery and maximize its usage rate. Given the massive costs required, one would expect the app’s efficiency to improve, but its performance in terms of return on investment and operational commitment was also markedly inadequate.

The performance and operational condition of public apps are in a serious state. Indiscriminate public apps are being developed, and system improvement measures such as updates to existing public apps are not being carried out, resulting in the waste of enormous budgets. According to a comprehensive analysis of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s review results of mobile public service app performance evaluations and maintenance plans released since 2017, 635 public apps developed over five years were found to have been discarded, scheduled for disposal, or recommended for disposal. The total budget used to develop those public apps that were to be discarded amounted to KRW 18.88579 billion.

Public projects such as public apps should not be pursued. Apps are a means of providing users with needed services and should be developed by companies, not by the government. The Zero Delivery Union service, which was turned away by consumers, was a wasteful project. The responsibility for providing services that meet consumer needs lies with companies, not the government. The development and promotion of Zero Delivery Union wasted a great deal of budget and encroached on the private delivery market. As the government intervened in the delivery market, private delivery app companies saw their incentive to provide high-quality services weaken, and the protection and guarantee of free competition were obstructed.

The development of unnecessary public apps must be halted. In planning and carrying out public projects, a strict review process is required. What is needed is a commitment to strengthening the review and verification of commercial viability in order to prevent budget waste and protect market freedom. Public systems must be established under systematic management so as not to encroach on the domain of the private market.

Euna Jo, Intern Researcher, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: [자유발언대] 불필요한 공공앱 개발 멈춰라

Author: Eun-a Cho

Date: 2023-02-10

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=free_opinion&pn=7&idx=25372