Lee, Yoon differ over how to support industries

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, greets people attending an online conference and announces his digital industry policy in Seoul, Jan. 11. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun

Lee promises government-led investment, Yoon vows for private-led economic innovation

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korea's economy has been struggling with the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China. At a time when it is important to lift Korea's growth potential, the two leading presidential candidates ― Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party ― have shown differences in their industry, science and technology and energy policies.

Ahead of the March 9 presidential election, the two leading candidates are generally suggesting similar visions with regards to achieving digital transformation; strengthening the country's core industrial sectors, such as semiconductors and batteries; and speeding up the energy transformation which are all crucial for the country to turn the series of crises caused by the pandemic, trade wars between the two superpowers and the climate crisis into an opportunity.

However, when it comes to details, the two candidates show some differences. Lee said his administration would produce growth to create more jobs through government-led investment, while Yoon promised he would come up with private sector-led economic growth policies by easing regulations to promote corporate growth.

Industrial policies

The direction of Lee's plan for the development of Korea's industries is to spur growth through government-led investment. In January, Lee announced his vision for creating more jobs through extensive investment in digital, energy and service industries.

Wearing a black turtleneck similar in appearance to Apple's Steve Jobs, Lee said that his government will invest 135 trillion won ($$112.8 billion) to foster digital industry and achieve digital transformation.

"We will invest 135 trillion won in this digital transformation to create innovative jobs. We will raise public funds, including central and local government funds, and private funds, to create digital infrastructure, build data highways and industrial ecosystems, foster hyper-connected industries and cultivate digital cultural content," Lee said.

To strengthen the country's capabilities in renewable energy industries, Lee also vowed to create what he calls an "energy highway." He explained that the term refers to a system in which residents in rural areas, where solar and wind power can be generated, produce renewable energy and sell it back to urban areas. Though each unit's energy production is small, a huge amount of renewable energy can be generated if numerous regions participate in the project. Lee added that the profits from this system will be distributed back to the residents.

Whereas Lee emphasized that the government will take the lead in raising funds and investing in the development of industries, Yoon pledged to develop the economy by growing companies.

Yoon said that he would create an organization dedicated to reforming regulations to promote investment by companies. He pledged to strengthen tax support and funding for research and development so that small businesses can grow into larger companies.

In line with fostering digital industries, Yoon also pledged to make a "digital platform government." Under this plan, he will set up what he calls a "one-site total service" system, in which users can log into a single website in order to access all the administrative services they need.

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The plan aims to provide customized service that all people can access. "I will make sure that no one will be left behind in welfare services due to lack of information," Yoon said in January. "I will prevent taxpayer money from being wasted, and make the government fairer and more efficient."

Yoon plans to improve the country's core industry sectors further, such as semiconductors and batteries, by reinforcing technological cooperation with other countries, such as the U.S.

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, visits a manufacturing plant in Incheon, Jan. 10. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun

Support for science, technology

Lee and Yoon have both vowed to strengthen their support for science and technology to help the country take a leap forward as a global leader in the field.

Although the details of their plans are different, the two candidates each said they would upgrade the country's status as a leader in the field of science and technology to enhance and guide the development of related sectors.

In December, Lee announced seven major pledges in the science and technology field. The pledges included establishing a deputy prime minister post for science and technology. Currently, the sector has been led by the science and information and communications technology minister.

"I will create a deputy prime minister seat for science and technology innovation and delegate the authority for planning and budgeting to the deputy prime minister. The new post will also work on protecting intellectual property rights to help domestic companies lead the global market without their technology being infringed upon," Lee said.

Lee's pledge also included making Korea one of the seven major space industry superpowers and completing a Moon landing by 2030. "For the Moon landing project, I will spare no effort in developing a launch vehicle that has the capability of placing an over 3-ton satellite into orbit," the candidate added.

Yoon likewise announced his vision in science and technology in February. During a discussion session with scientists, Yoon said that he would create a science and technology committee jointly led by the government and the private sector so that the organization could play a role in creating future growth engines for the country.

He added that science and technology experts should be guaranteed autonomy so that they are not affected by political interests. "We need to set up long-term research projects that are essential for the future of Korea, and these should not be affected by who is in power politically. I will ensure steady budget support during the period of research," he said.

On carbon neutrality

Both candidates agreed that achieving carbon neutrality is a key task of the times, but they have different views on how to accomplish it.

Lee said that he would advance the current Moon Jae-in government's plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 10 years faster. The country's coal power plants will be shut down by 2040, 10 years earlier than the current plan, and sales of gas engine-powered cars will also be suspended from 2040. He also vowed to increase the share of renewable energy used to 30 percent by 2030.

Lee also said he would impose a carbon tax on companies' greenhouse gas emissions to encourage them to convert to new eco-friendly energy systems sooner.

On the other hand, Yoon said that he would scrap the current administration's nuclear power plant phase-out plan and vowed to redesign the existing carbon neutrality goal after discussing the issue with the relevant industries.

Yoon also promised to resume the construction of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant reactors No. 3 and No. 4, which were suspended by the Moon government, saying that he will include nuclear power generation as part of his carbon neutrality plan.

On the issue of fine dust pollution which is occurring with increasing regularity, Yoon promised to reduce fine dust by 30 percent within his term by lowering the proportion of fossil fuels in the country's overall energy mix to one-third.