SEOUL-- The government seeks to slash the number of committees under its oversight by 39 percent to increase operational efficiency and cut costs, according to the presidential office.

The plan, which was unveiled Wednesday, calls for abolishing or incorporating 246 of 636 government committees, including 13 of the 20 committees directly under the president.

The move is a response to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's stated aim of establishing a "flexible and efficient government system."

The presidential office said government committees are created to help collect diverse opinions and draw on people's expertise, but many have been reduced to "ghost committees" that are expensive to run and have overlapping responsibilities.

The number of committees increased from 530 under the Lee Myung-bak administration to 558 under President Park Geun-hye and 637 under President Moon Jae-in, prompting calls for a major overhaul, it said.

Among presidential committees, four, including those for national education and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, will be abolished at the end of their terms, while seven will be moved to under the prime minister or government ministries.

Among committees under the prime minister, 21 out of 61, or 34 percent, will be subject to the reorganization, while among those under government ministries, 227 out of 554, or 41 percent, will be abolished or incorporated into other committees.

With the reductions, the government is expected to save more than 30 billion won (US$21.7 million) in operational costs, the presidential office said.

The plan will be submitted to the National Assembly following a Cabinet meeting in late September.

Source: Yonhap News Agency