Korea badly needs to develop new growth engines because its key industries such as automobiles and electronics are losing their competitiveness against their global rivals, particularly with the swift rise of China and its tremendous R&D spending.
Against this backdrop, the government announced a 10-year project Wednesday to develop future industries during a meeting presided over by President Park Geun-hye at Cheong Wa Dae. The government chose five projects through which to develop new growth engines — self-driving cars, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), light materials and smart city development. The government also announced four other projects for enhancing the quality of life including fine dust control and the development of new drugs. A total of 2.2 trillion won in government and private investments will be spent on the nine projects.
The government’s renewed focus on science and technology is a step in the right direction to lift Korea out of its protracted slump. Development of new industries is also necessary to deal with the swelling unemployment particularly among people in their 20s and 30s. But the effectiveness of the new growth plan is questionable for several reasons.
First, there is the problem of consistency in policy implementation. Policies for developing new growth engines take a long time to produce results. So relevant ministries need to support and follow up on the proceedings of these projects regardless of administrative transfer. But past precedents suggest this is unlikely because similar projects created by the administrations of former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and the late Roh Moo-hyun lost momentum after they left office.
Park’s ambitious new growth strategy is also problematic because it seems to be based on fast trends rather than long-term thinking. Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning Choi Yang-hee said that the strategy was not to pursue trends, but many experts believe otherwise. The President stressed the development of augmented reality (AR) technology while mentioning the latest global craze over Pokemon Go, a mobile game developed by the Japanese gaming giant Nintendo using AR technology. If Pokemon Go had not aroused such a huge sensation around the world, the need to develop AR would not have been at the forefront of such a meeting.
Her new growth plan also lacks the spirit of innovation as it is aimed primarily at catching up to global leaders rather than becoming a leader itself. Its focus on unmanned vehicles, for example, is something that has already been going on for some time in the U.S. and Japan, which is planning to supply driverless cars in time for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
This was only the second national science and technology strategy session since it was established in May. It is led by the President with the participation of policymakers and experts in relevant fields. It is understandable that there has not been enough time to come up with a more long-term plan. Rather than announcing a rash new growth plan at the meetings, the government should do what is really needed to advance Korea’s science and technology on a long-term basis. For this, the government needs to be more efficient with R&D spending and invest more in science and technology education.