Strategy on sustainable infrastructure asset management: Focus on Korea׳s future policy directivity

Abstract

The management of infrastructure in Korea has been restricted to simple history management and manual post-maintenance activities after construction. Thus, there has been a lack of an optimum managerial and economic approaches, such as the minimization of the total cost of assets from a life-cycle perspective. Moreover, as Korea׳s National Accounting Standards obligate the reporting of national asset assessment to the National Assembly every year in order to improve management performance measurement of public institutions and transparency of government accounting, the importance of asset management in infrastructures is expected to become increasingly pronounced. Therefore, this study examined the current institutional status on sustainable infrastructure asset management in Korea and focused on the country׳s future policy directivity regarding this subject.The methodology in this study is as follows. First, since the concept and systems of asset management in domestic infrastructures are insufficient, the concept of asset management, subjects of asset management, and systems in developed nations were examined along with those of Korea. Second, the current status of asset management in domestic and overseas infrastructures was analyzed in order to determine the justification for legal legislation of asset management in developed nations and to inspect the current status and challenges of infrastructure asset management in Korea. Third, sustainable policy directivity for settlement and encouragement of infrastructure asset management was proposed, such as the preparation of the legal basis for an asset management guidance system, the development of a general asset management manual for infrastructures, and the development of an indicator for practical price reassessments.