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| Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo, right, speaks during a meeting with lawmakers on the government's 2050 carbon neutrality initiative at the National Assembly in Seoul, Dec. 7. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-keun |
By Nam Hyun-woo
The government announced next year's plan to encourage the development of innovative industrial technologies, which includes investments worth 4.95 trillion won ($4.53 billion), according to the industry ministry, Tuesday.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it established next year's plan to support industries' development of advanced technologies and allocated the 4.95 trillion budget to finance these efforts.
The record-high amount is up 18.7 percent from 4.17 trillion won last year. The ministry explained it decided to increase the amount to secure future growth momentum amid the global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the budget, 1.55 trillion won will be allocated in assisting industries to develop materials, components and equipment to lift the country's readiness for rapid changes to the global supply chain. This year, the government added new support programs for R&D in the steelmaking industry and earmarked 16.7 billion won to help industry efforts to push for a possible breakthrough amid rising iron ore prices and tumbling demand.
For logic-based system memory chips, advanced mobility and biotechnology, the government will invest 966.5 billion won next year, up 43.4 percent from this year. The three industries were selected by President Moon Jae-in as the new growth driver for the country's economy.
In next year's plan, the government introduced three new programs to grow fabless semiconductor companies, develop advanced driving platform technologies and statewide support for new drug developers. In the drug development program, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the industry ministry will collaborate to encourage domestic drug makers to have more than five new drug approvals from U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) or European Medicines Agency by 2030, as well as signing more than 75 license-out deals worth over 20 billion won.
As part of President Moon Jae-in and Cheong Wa Dae's drive to expand the country's presence in the lucrative renewable energy and eco-friendly tech industries and accomplish carbon neutrality by 2050, the ministry said it will spend 859.2 billion won. The money will be used to focus on the expansion of renewable energy use and development of a hydrogen economy.
"In technology, unimaginable innovations can happen in 30 years," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo said of the carbon neutrality goal. "Through technological progress, we believe we can realize carbon neutrality by 2050."
Additionally, the ministry earmarked 231.8 billion won of the budget for data processing and advanced communication technologies and 440.3 billion won on growing the workforce and R&D infrastructure for local communities.
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