This paper examines Korea's public sector reforms undertaken by the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun government and assesses them based on the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, predictability, transparency and public participation in public governance. Then, as a way of augmenting an assessment of the public sector reforms against these criteria, Korea's public sector governance is compared with those of advanced countries. Korea's public sector governance has improved particularly in terms of some of the five criteria, and yet it remains far below the OECD average. A few important success factors for public sector reforms emerge from this study. They include a strong and consistent commitment of the President, participation of citizens and key stakeholders - not rent-seekers, and public support for government reform measures.