정부기관 PR 부서의 위상과 역할에 대한 연구

초록

<Objectives> Given the importance of government public relations, this study aimed to examine the status and role of the public relations (PR) departments in major governmental organizations in South Korea. <Methods> This study included a review of information for 40 governmental ministries and agencies, organizational charts and the role descriptions of officers working in PR departments, which were retrieved from the official websites of those organizations. The title and size of the PR departments and the key roles of officers in the departments were analyzed. In addition, the titles of the PR departments in the current government led by President Moon were compared with those in the past three governments by President Park, Lee, and Noh. <Results> The results showed that the Office of the Spokesperson and subsidiary PR department(s), using the terms ‘public relations (planning)’ and/or ‘digital communication,’ were the most common form of PR in the organizations analyzed. The Bu-level organizations appeared to have more specified PR departments, with a greater size of public officers than the other levels of governmental organizations. The key roles of 633 public officers were related with either media relations (e.g., writing press releases), or associated with the online activities (e.g., managing social media channels), but the roles involving research/analysis, issue management, and evaluation were not often identified. <Conclusions> Broadly speaking, the paradigm of government public relations has moved from the public information model toward the contemporary definition of public relations, with a focus on two-way symmetric communication and relationship building. The organizational environment surrounding PR departments in governmental organizations corresponded to such changes, in terms of the title, size, and roles of officers in the PR departments. Some suggestions were provided based on the findings.

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