Korea urged to create 'co-evolving IT model'

Shin Dong-hee

By Cho Mu-hyun

A noted professor in the information technology (IT) field says Korea seriously needs to change its essential working mechanism and introduce more platforms to the global stage to stay competitive.

Shin Dong-hee, specializing in interaction science at Sungkyungkwan University, stressed that government, businesses and academia must come together to realize what he called a

"co-evolving IT model." A practical, user-centered direction must be realized by the three.

"The government, businesses and academia must build and find a user-centered policy for a project of not just in design but in development, marketing and every step of the process," said Shin. "In IT governance, that policy must have a direct bridge with the changes in society to have social and practical implications."

"Those previously separated parties that have mostly stayed in a league of their own, to implement an IT governance model that focuses on users, must know precisely what is going on in the industry, That would be revolutionary and an incentive for the Korean IT industry to move forward."

The professor was on the faculty at Pennsylvania State University, where he was named the most outstanding researcher in 2007, before he joined Sungkyunkwan University by invitation of the government. Having been in Silicon Valley during its peak in 1997, he understands what convergence means. It is not about a cooperative thinking within the sciences, as most Koreans believe, but the sciences with the humanities.

"That is how you think out of the box and bring a fresh perspective. I call Steve Jobs a genius because he gave the turning point for the way we think."

Shin will start working at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology from next year, where he believes its head Ahn Cheol-soo has laid a good foundation to promote their overlapping studies on how to add more creativity to information technology.

Despite agreeing that Korea's economic standards have become noticeably high, he cited Japan's current plight and the long-standing focus on hardware by local businesses as something that must change. While continuing its streak, the country must meet global standards on what he called "soft power."

That power will allow firms such as Samsung Electronics or Kakao to release truly, globally marketable platforms that will be widely accepted and ensure businesses continue to succeed. He cited Apple, Google and Facebook as successful cases of platform strategy.

Noting that Korea's government agencies have too many unnecessary rules hampering companies as well as individuals, he underlined the need for loosening regulations and decentralizing policies to allow creativity. There are too many interruptions by the government when it should let the market find its own solution.

"The game industry is a good example of this. The government recently enforced a shutdown policy (game companies limit how children can play games) due to the pressure by women's groups on game addiction.

"You have to understand that game companies survive in a hellish business environment here. Such policies critically effect their revenue and bottom line. Game addiction is talked about everywhere in the world, but in the United States, for example, the government doesn't interfere as part of its hands off strategy and lets the users make choices and lead the industry."

He added that the atmosphere and the market in Korea require immense capital for entrepreneurs to start businesses and also face a social stigma that society itself must facilitate a change in.

The chaebol and significant market players are also challenges as newcomers eventually lose out in the "battle of scope" here.

Though Shin is supportive overall of the United States' policies regarding information technology regulations, he is against unmeasured importing of operating models before thinking of their applicability to Korea.

"For a correct diagnosis, we must first have a thorough self-evaluation to dig out what must be fixed. Also, before importing ideas from developed nations overseas, it must be put into a Korean context," said Shin.

"Politicians have openly thrown the word democratization of the economy. The phrase is ambiguous and centered on values. They continue to give solutions that are ideological. That is not a solution. It must be an on-the-ground approach."

For a comprehensive approach in leading the industry to change, which he admits "won't happen at once," all related parties must scrutinize themselves for a step-by-step change that sees them all benefit on equal footings.

He gave an example on a practical approach, or at least a start, on changing some current imbalances: "Calling chaebol evil or good is not practical. The issue of oligarchies is not about values. In capitalism, there can be no growth without investment. Dissolving chaebol themselves is impossible in the first place, because the Korean model has them lead smaller partners unlike Europe where decentralized mid-sized firms work together to lead. The government system and policies that make chaebol monopolize mid- and small-sized firms is what must be fixed."