Global MPM Insight

Sharing Key trends shaping the future of the Network and Keynote Speeches Jon Blondal, Head of Public Management and Budgeting Division at the OECD, and Kim Sung-hoon, Director General of Planning and Coordination Bureau at the MPM, jointly took the stage as strategic partners to present global trends and emerging issues in public personnel management from the OECD perspective, and to outline the Network’s achievements and future directions. Jon Blondal highlighted three major global trends: (i) fiscal pressures and population aging as both constraints and catalysts for public workforce transformation; (ii) widening gaps in AI-related capabilities; and (iii) the principles of human-centered AI utilization. Kim Sung- hoon emphasized the imperative of aligning technological innovation with public workforce transformation. He introduced the Ministry’s policy responses, including strategic workforce planning and capacity-bui lding initiatives, and reaffirmed its role in advancing the Network as a platform for sustained international cooperation in public personnel administration. In the subsequent keynote address, Kim Dongwook, Professor Emeritus and Director of the Center for Intelligent Society and Policy at Seoul National University, noted that artificial intelligence has the potential to transform traditional policy and personnel systems into predictive, intelligence-based frameworks. He explained that the application of AI across the full spectrum of public personnel management - including recruitment, workforce management, and pension administration - could significantly enhance administrative efficiency and user satisfaction. Given that its application remains at an early stage, he highlighted the importance of international networks that facilitate the sharing of experiences and knowledge among countries. In the second keynote address, Shyam Raghupathi, Assistant Commissioner for Professions and Pathways at the Australian Public Service Commission, introduced the Australian Government’s Data and Digital Workforce Plan (2025–2030), drawing on Australia’s experience in implementing public sector reforms to address shortages in data, digi tal , and AI capabi l i t ies and the challenges of population ageing. He also outlined preparations for the use of artificial intelligence in public personnel administration, with a focus on directions for international cooperation. Roundtable Session The conference was held under the theme “Transforming the Publ ic Workforce in the Age of Disruption and Innovation,” and featured three roundtable sessions: 1) Public Service Leadership in an Age of Disruption and Innovation; 2) Workforce Management in the Digital Age: Promises and Realities; and 3) AI and the Public Sector Workforce: Preparing for the Future. Discussions focused on the evolving role of the public workforce amid rapidly changing administrative environments and on directions for innovation in public personnel management systems to respond to these changes. The roundtable discussions were moderated by Kim Sung-hoon, Director General of Planning and Coordination Bureau at the MPM, and Mohammad Ridwan, Chief Representative of Indonesia’s National Civil Service Agency. Country representatives shared national policy cases and reform experiences, and discussed common chal lenges in publ ic personnel administration and corresponding policy responses. Particular attention was given to the competencies and evolving roles required of public leaders in an increasingly uncertain administrative environment. Participants agreed that meeting rising citizen expectations requires not only institutional reform, but also parallel changes in organizational culture and leadership. While national contexts differ, participants reaffirmed that cooperation and mutual learning are essential to developing more effective policy solutions, highlighting the growing importance of the Network as a platform for sustained collaboration. 76 Global MPM Insight Vol.5 77 Personnel Administration Cooperation for Transforming the Public Workforce in the Age of Disruption and Innovation