Taking a cue from long-held views that many of the current English names of government agencies sound strange and incongruous, the Korean government has set out to review the names of the state bodies to sound more natural and accurate.

The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs said Tuesday it would establish guidelines for translating the names of government ministries and their respective affiliated bodies into English.

Specific plans on how to revise the existing names will also be discussed on Friday at a meeting of its advisory committee, which includes native English speakers.

“It is important for the English name of a government organization to allow foreigners easily understand specifically what the organization does, and what its role is,” a ministry official said.

The ministry has been discussing potential new English names with government agencies since March.

For example, it has suggested that the Korean National Police Agency should erase “Korean” from its title. Officials explained that most police activities take place in Korea anyway, and when the agency’s name is spelled out in international events, the phrase “Republic of Korea” is automatically attached after the title.

But the agency reportedly argued that it needed to retain its current name to differentiate itself from other countries’ police agencies with similar names.

Confusing translations of government agencies have long been a source of complaint among foreigners in Korea, as many of them tend to be unclear in terms of describing their actual functions.

For instance, the former Lee Myung-bak administration’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy ― now the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy ― caused confusion as its official title depicted an idea far from the organization’s actual role. The ministry oversaw international trade, foreign investment, energy projects and overall Korean industry and was not directly related to the concept of “knowledge economy,” or economy based on value created by knowledge.

The Park Geun-hye administration’s agencies are said to have clearer English names than their predecessors. But it, too, has its share of strange-sounding names.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance was another English name criticized by foreigners, who said the word “strategy” was redundant as all ministries’ plans involve some sort of strategy.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veteran Affairs is in charge of affairs related to veterans and those acknowledged by the state to have dedicated their lives in meritorious service of Korea. But to describe the latter, the ministry uses the word “patriot,” which simply means anyone who loves and strongly supports their country.

A 35-year-old from Britain said this sounded as if the ministry is “a government body that decides who loves the country.”

While some names depicted a ministry’s nonexistent roles, others actually reduced the scope of their functions. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning covers the general field of science and technology, but its name suggests that it specifically tackles science and information technology.

Native English speakers also had a hard time grasping what was meant by “future planning,” as all ministries plan for the future.

Some ministries resorted to repeating redundant words such as Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, Ministry of Public Safety and Security and Ministry of Employment and Labor.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)