As changes in the socio-economic environment become more rapid, so the role of statistics in society becomes more important. At the same time,
the role of a national statistical office (hereafter NSO) as a provider of official statistics attracts increasing interest because the function
of an NSO in a country assuredly depends on changes in the economic and social surroundings in pursuit of national prosperity. ¶
In this paper, the strong relationship between the social and economic development of a country and the development of a national statistical office
will be explicated using the example of Korea, which has experienced dynamic take-off in both economic and social sectors during the last 40 years.
The progress of the Korean NSO will be studied in three time periods by looking at the socio-economic changes in each period, and how the NSO
responded. In addition, as the Global Age emerged in the late 1990s, the Korean NSO started to encounter new demands at a time of limited resources
and a worsening statistical environment. In light of this, several current issues and corresponding strategies for NSOs will be suggested.