Lawmaker extols benefits of supercomputers

Rep. Chung Doo-un of the GNP

Kim Young-jin, Lee Tae-hoon
Staff reporters

A lawmaker Thursday called on the government to establish a long-term plan for the development of new technology, especially in the area of supercomputers.

Supercomputers often refer to the world’s 500 fastest computers, many of which are used for national security, science research and predicting natural disasters.

“If Korea is to survive in this increasingly competitive world, it must not neglect nurturing the supercomputer industry, which has emerged as a new growth driver in advanced countries,” Rep. Chung Doo-un of the governing Grand National Party said in a seminar held at the National Assembly.

Also present at the forum was Robert Graybill, director of innovation initiatives at the University of Southern California, who said the improved performance and programmability associated with supercomputers leads to significant benefits in the private and public sectors.

In addition, supercomputers bolster the reliability of national security systems by applying all known techniques to protect against outside attacks, hardware faults and programming errors, he said.

To begin the process of increasing the use of supercomputers, Graybill said a country should determine whether its private sector is using them as aggressively as it can. If not, it should explore the role of public-private sector partnerships.

It can then leverage government investment in supercomputer research and development, systems and expertise in a move to accelerate innovation.