To mark the first anniversary of the 'Special Act on the Promotion of National Strategic Technology' that went into effect in September last year, a forum was held for experts from industry, academia, and research to discuss the results of the law's implementation and future directions. The experts pointed out that "in order for the government and the private sector to join forces to effectively promote strategic technology, it is necessary to supplement the current policy," and presented various opinions.
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) held a conference to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the enforcement of the Special Act on National Strategic Technology at the JW Marriott Hotel in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 2nd. The government selected 12 national strategic technologies that the country must secure at the 2022 plenary session of the National Science and Technology Advisory Council chaired by the President and has been intensively supporting research and development (R&D) investment and policies. Minister of Science and ICT Yoo Sang-im, who gave the opening address of the event, said, “In a situation where competition for technological hegemony intensifies, we must secure ultra-gap technologies centered on the 12 national strategic technologies.” He added, “The MSIT will oversee and lead R&D of national strategic technologies through expertise and research in science and technology, and close partnerships with industrial sites.”
However, experts in each field who gave the speech that day pointed out that more sophisticated government support is needed to expand national strategic technologies. President Kim Sung-keun of POSTECH, who gave the keynote speech, said, “The National Strategic Technology Special Act is a good answer that seems to have been written by a model student after studying hard, but it has limitations.” He added, “It covers all areas that are considered important technologies, but considering the issue of selection and concentration, it is questionable whether it is wise to select and support 12 technologies.”
He pointed out that “a plan for detailed technologies is more important than a list of technologies,” and that “even if we look at nuclear technology alone, there are numerous detailed technologies within it, but there is a lack of in-depth discussion on which ones to focus on.” This means that specific milestones should be presented.
At a meeting to explore ways to connect and cooperate with academia and industry, focusing on the three game-changing technologies of AI, semiconductors, advanced bio, and quantum technology, there was an opinion that the government should ease regulations. Jaesik Choi, CEO of INEEJI and professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), who studies AI, said, “I heard that Korea has stronger ownership of personal information than other countries,” and “In order to foster AI, we need to allow learning data, excluding sensitive data. The government needs to step forward and convince the public of the necessity.”
