[Edaily Kang Gyeong-rok Travel Reporter] The government is reorganizing the deliberation and coordination system for national tourism policy to be centered on the President. Under this structure, the President will personally preside over the National Tourism Strategy Council—which was previously chaired by the Prime Minister—while the Office of the President will handle preliminary coordination among government ministries. The scope of participation will be expanded to include the industrial and employment sectors, and a function to evaluate policy implementation performance will also be added.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 20th that a draft decree for a complete revision of the “Regulations on the Composition and Operation of the National Tourism Strategy Council,” containing these provisions, was approved at a Cabinet meeting. The revised decree will take effect on the 29th.
This reorganization is a follow-up measure resulting from the amendment to the Framework Act on Tourism last April, which changed the chair of the National Tourism Strategy Council from the Prime Minister to the President. Previously, the Prime Minister served as chair and the Second Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism served as secretary. Going forward, the President will serve as chair to deliberate on and coordinate major tourism policies, while the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism will serve as secretary.

A key change is the strengthening of the Presidential Office’s policy coordination function. The existing Vice Ministerial Coordination Meeting will be reorganized into a working-level coordination meeting chaired by the Senior Secretary for Tourism Policy in the Presidential Secretariat. This structure allows vice minister-level officials from relevant ministries to discuss and coordinate agenda items to be presented to the National Tourism Strategy Council in advance. This move ensures that the Presidential Office participates in the preliminary coordination process for major tourism policies.
The number of participating ministries will also be expanded to 15. The Ministers of Trade, Industry and Energy and of Employment and Labor will join as new members. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will be responsible for the exhibition industry related to MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), while the Ministry of Employment and Labor will handle workforce development and job creation policies in the tourism sector. The Head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, who was previously a member, will be excluded, and the Senior Secretary for Tourism Policy at the Presidential Secretariat will take his place.
The aim is to broaden the scope of consultation among relevant ministries, given that tourism policy is linked to the responsibilities of various ministries, including immigration, transportation, exhibitions, and employment. With this reorganization, ministry-specific issues—such as tourism, the exhibition industry, and workforce supply and demand—can now be discussed collectively at the National Tourism Strategy Council.
A framework for policy participation by the private sector and local governments has also been established. An advisory group of up to 20 experts in tourism policy and the tourism industry may be formed. The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism appoints the members, and their term of office is one year.
Regional Tourism Promotion Councils may also be established. The Second Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism will serve as chair, and deputy heads of metropolitan governments will participate. Opinions from local governments gathered by these councils are to be reported to the National Tourism Strategy Council. This procedure is designed to ensure that regional tourism issues are reflected in the central government’s policy deliberation process.
The law also codifies a mechanism for evaluating policy implementation performance. The scope of deliberation and coordination by the National Tourism Strategy Council includes not only the formulation of tourism promotion plans but also the evaluation and incorporation of implementation results. This allows for the review of policy implementation outcomes by each ministry and their incorporation into follow-up plans.
As a general rule, the National Tourism Strategy Council will convene twice a year, once every half-year. The President may adjust the timing of meetings as necessary.
Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, “Through this strategic council led by the President, a public-private partnership tailored to Korea has been established, bringing together ministries, the private sector, and local governments,” adding, “This will serve as a strong policy foundation for the tourism industry.”