![[PHOTOGRAPH: UNSPLASH]](/news/photo/202006/2159_3082_944.jpg)
By Park Jun-young WIRED Korea
The Korean government’s plan to turn a virus-triggered economic crisis into an opportunity to make investments in technology and create jobs is taking off, as the process of funding is put in motion.
The government is set to submit a 35.3 trillion won supplementary budget bill to the National Assembly for approval when it is ready to start operating its standing committees for a new four-year term.
The supplementary budget bill, the largest ever, is drawn up to combat unemployment, with 1,245,000 people out of jobs in April. The number of employed people stood at 26,562,000, down 476,000 from a year ago, or the largest drop since February 1992.
The supplementary budget bill includes 892.5 billion won earmarked for expenditures on newly emerging technologies -– those involving data, networks and artificial intelligence.
The projected spending is not a one-off deal. Instead, it is just part of a 6.4 trillion won “Digital New Deal” project, which the government says will be continued during the next three years.
The Digital New Deal is part of a Korean version of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933-39 New Deal. This idea was hatched by President Moon Jae-in.
As the coronavirus started to hold the Korean economy hostage and raise the unemployment rate, President Moon told an emergency Cabinet conference in late April that he would pursue a Korean New Deal. He wanted to parlay a Digital New Deal into a post-coronavirus era of prosperity.
It appears Moon followed in the footsteps of Kim Dae-jung, one of his predecessors, when he decided to spend huge sums of money on new, game -changing technologies in his fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
When the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis was forcing many people out of jobs, former President Kim turned to information-communication technology as a new source of job creation. The measures he took included financial support for ventures in the field of ICT and chipmakers and job training designed to help the ICT industry. Outlays, which began with a supplementary budget, were included in the general budgets later on.
The Ministry of Science and ICT, the government agency in charge of the Digital New Deal, says it will build up what it calls DNA -- an interrelated system of data, networks and artificial intelligence. The ministry believes the proposed ecological system of the three key technologies is needed to usher in the next phase of industrial advancement, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“AI is indispensable for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital transition,” says Jang Seokyoung, second vice minister of science and ICT. “Upgrading AI demands the availability of data in abundance.”
A lion’s share of the DNA budget, the ministry says, will be spent on building open data systems to improve citizens’ everyday life, collecting data on science and technology for use by industry and academia, creating the government’s work environment based on a 5G network and developing technology and AI for wide use in all industrial sectors.
Another key area for funding is training people as experts in artificial intelligence and programming.
The government, the ministry says, will also assist corporations in the use of artificial intelligence and the development of virtual- and augmented-reality contents.
Another area of keen concern to the government is the development of new technologies that are needed during a pandemic, such as the current COVID-19, where face-to-face contact needs to be avoided. The government plans to spend 17.5 billion won on the development of non-direct contact models of services and businesses.
“Transition to a non-contact and digital environment has been accelerating since the outbreak of COVID-19, bringing us closer to the upcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution,” says a ministry official. “The Korean New Deal will help our nation accommodate non-contact and digital transition, speed up the digital-based economic innovation and create jobs.”
At a time when the government is launching a Digital New Deal, NHN, a leading Korean ICT company, has recently unveiled its 500 billion won project to build a cloud data center in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. Its dedication is scheduled for 2022.
NHN says will also build a research and development center nearby, adding that it will be staffed by 500 researchers.
It is yet to be seen if the Digital New Deal will encourage other ICT companies follow NHN’s lead in investing in data and other new technologies.
The government is set to submit a 35.3 trillion won supplementary budget bill to the National Assembly for approval when it is ready to start operating its standing committees for a new four-year term.
The supplementary budget bill, the largest ever, is drawn up to combat unemployment, with 1,245,000 people out of jobs in April. The number of employed people stood at 26,562,000, down 476,000 from a year ago, or the largest drop since February 1992.
The supplementary budget bill includes 892.5 billion won earmarked for expenditures on newly emerging technologies -– those involving data, networks and artificial intelligence.
The projected spending is not a one-off deal. Instead, it is just part of a 6.4 trillion won “Digital New Deal” project, which the government says will be continued during the next three years.
The Digital New Deal is part of a Korean version of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933-39 New Deal. This idea was hatched by President Moon Jae-in.
As the coronavirus started to hold the Korean economy hostage and raise the unemployment rate, President Moon told an emergency Cabinet conference in late April that he would pursue a Korean New Deal. He wanted to parlay a Digital New Deal into a post-coronavirus era of prosperity.
It appears Moon followed in the footsteps of Kim Dae-jung, one of his predecessors, when he decided to spend huge sums of money on new, game -changing technologies in his fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
When the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis was forcing many people out of jobs, former President Kim turned to information-communication technology as a new source of job creation. The measures he took included financial support for ventures in the field of ICT and chipmakers and job training designed to help the ICT industry. Outlays, which began with a supplementary budget, were included in the general budgets later on.
The Ministry of Science and ICT, the government agency in charge of the Digital New Deal, says it will build up what it calls DNA -- an interrelated system of data, networks and artificial intelligence. The ministry believes the proposed ecological system of the three key technologies is needed to usher in the next phase of industrial advancement, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“AI is indispensable for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital transition,” says Jang Seokyoung, second vice minister of science and ICT. “Upgrading AI demands the availability of data in abundance.”
A lion’s share of the DNA budget, the ministry says, will be spent on building open data systems to improve citizens’ everyday life, collecting data on science and technology for use by industry and academia, creating the government’s work environment based on a 5G network and developing technology and AI for wide use in all industrial sectors.
Another key area for funding is training people as experts in artificial intelligence and programming.
The government, the ministry says, will also assist corporations in the use of artificial intelligence and the development of virtual- and augmented-reality contents.
Another area of keen concern to the government is the development of new technologies that are needed during a pandemic, such as the current COVID-19, where face-to-face contact needs to be avoided. The government plans to spend 17.5 billion won on the development of non-direct contact models of services and businesses.
“Transition to a non-contact and digital environment has been accelerating since the outbreak of COVID-19, bringing us closer to the upcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution,” says a ministry official. “The Korean New Deal will help our nation accommodate non-contact and digital transition, speed up the digital-based economic innovation and create jobs.”
At a time when the government is launching a Digital New Deal, NHN, a leading Korean ICT company, has recently unveiled its 500 billion won project to build a cloud data center in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. Its dedication is scheduled for 2022.
NHN says will also build a research and development center nearby, adding that it will be staffed by 500 researchers.
It is yet to be seen if the Digital New Deal will encourage other ICT companies follow NHN’s lead in investing in data and other new technologies.
Park Jun-young’s Korean-language article is found at "과기정통부 '디지털 뉴딜'로 D.N.A 생태계 강화".
저작권자 © WIRED Korea 무단전재 및 재배포 금지
저작권자 © WIRED Korea 무단전재 및 재배포 금지
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