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| The Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin, left, and Woori Bank Executive Vice President Hwang Kyu-mok, right, applaud after giving awards to the winners of the newspaper's 17th English Economic Essay Contest at the Lotte Hotel Seoul, Tuesday. From left are Oh, Hwang Jee-seon, Kyle Wardwell, Lee Jae-hyeon, Koh Woo-sung, Lee Yoon-ki, Samuel Wilson and Hwang. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Park Jae-hyuk
In their award-winning English economic essays, university students suggested ways for society to enable co-prosperity between people and artificial intelligence (AI), and expressed their thoughts on the merits of introducing a basic income system here.
The Korea Times invited the six winners of the newspaper's 17th English Economic Essay Contest to an awards ceremony at the Lotte Hotel Seoul, Tuesday.
Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin and Woori Bank Executive Vice President Hwang Kyu-mok also attended the event ― the bank has sponsored the contest since its inception.
This year, students were asked to write on one of two subjects: "What are your suggestions for co-prosperity between people and AI?" or "Do you agree with the idea of institutionalizing a basic income system?"
Students from across the world elaborated on their original ideas in their essays.
Awardees in the first topic advised governments to make investments to retrain workers to adapt to AI. Educational reforms and flexible regulatory systems were also mentioned as solutions for the transition towards an economy with a higher degree of automation.
Those who wrote on the second topic differed on the necessity of a basic income system. Opponents of the system raised concerns about the possibility of Korea becoming less innovative, but there was also the opinion that an inclusive social safety net is required to reduce inequality.
The contestants cited renowned experts and news reports to support their thoughts, while some of them mentioned case studies in other countries.
"Both topics are crucial issues for our future," President-Publisher Oh said. "The Korea Times Economic Essay Contest will continue to serve as the window for the younger generations to express their opinions about economic and global issues."
Woori Bank Executive Vice President Hwang said: "We were able to think carefully about the deepening polarization in Korean society after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and about a world where AI is replacing humans. The fresh ideas you have proposed will be a great help to those in the relevant fields, not only to Korea Times readers."
Among the six winners, KAIST student Lee Jae-hyeon and Sungkyunkwan University Graduate School of Business student Kyle Wardwell won the Grand Prizes.
"It was a meaningful opportunity as I could do research and organize my own thoughts about the topic of AI that has been discussed frequently," Lee said.
Wardwell, who comes from the United States, showed his gratitude for students getting the opportunity to critically analyze, research and share their opinions about important economic issues.
Seoul National University student Hwang Jee-seon and Yonsei University student Koh Woo-sung claimed the runner-up awards. The commendation awards went to George Mason University Korea student Samuel Wilson and Hanyang University student Lee Yoon-ki.
Each of the Grand Prize winners was given 3 million won and an award plaque. Each of the runners-up received 2 million won and a plaque, while 1 million won and a plaque were given to each of the commendation award winners.
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