On the afternoon of May 8, the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI, President Kim Dae-hui) and the Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (hereinafter the ‘Fourth Committee’, Chairperson Jang Byung-gyu) held the ‘Conference on Regulatory Innovation Results and Agenda’ at the main conference hall of Seoul Post Tower.

The conference was organized to evaluate the results of policies that have been enacted in order to introduce innovations to the realm of regulations, an effort that President Moon’s administration had been driving for the last two years, and to discuss the direction and agenda for introducing innovations to regulations. The conference program comprised three presentations followed by two discussion sessions and attracted participants from government, academia, industries and civic group.

The topics of the three presentations were the direction and agenda of regulatory innovations pursued by President Moon’s administration; the implementation of the regulatory sandbox program and ways of improving the program; and the results of the 4th Committee’s regulation/system innovation hackathon and future direction.

The first speaker, Mr. Lee Ryun-joo, director of the Regulatory Reform Office, Office for Government Policy Coordination, gave a presentation on the direction and agenda of the regulatory innovations pursued by President Moon’s administration.  He explained how, under President Moon’s government, the direction of regulatory innovation would be promoting ex post regulation, burden of proof in regulation, pro-active administration, and the eradication of passive administration. He added that in order to consistently implement regulatory innovations, the administration plans to encourage interdepartmental cooperation.

The second presentation was given by Professor Lee Jong-young under the title of ‘Implementation of the Regulatory Sandbox Program and Ways of Improving the program’. Professor Lee talked about the purpose and operational structure of the regulatory sandbox program introduced in the ICT industry convergence and financial industry, the best known examples of the regulatory sandbox, and areas for improvement in the current regulatory sandbox program as viewed from working-level and legal perspectives.

The last presentation was given by 4th Committee Member Go Jin on the subject of ‘The Results of the 4th Committee’s Regulation/System Innovation Hackathon and Future Direction’. He talked about what the 4th Committee hopes to achieve with the regulation/system innovation hackathon, provided a short history and the results of the event, and discussed the direction in which the 4th Committee will operate the regulatory/system innovation hackathon in the future.

The presentations were followed by the first discussion session, which dealt with the question of what direction the government’s regulatory policies should take. The discussions were moderated by 4th Committee Member Im Chun-seong, and the participants included attorney Kang Shinook from Shin & Kim, Director Kim Jeong-won, Internet Convergence Policy Officer at the Ministry of Science and ICT, Director General Nam Hyung-gi, Director-General for Regulatory Innovation and Planning at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Professor Ahn Su-hyun of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Research Fellow Won So-yeon from the Korea Institute of Public Administration, and Director Lee Gyeong-sang from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The participants reviewed the series of regulatory innovations introduced by the government from the viewpoint of academia and industry, and shared their opinions about the direction of regulatory innovations in the future.

The second discussion session was moderated by General Manager Kim Jeong-eon from KISDI and dealt with the 4th Committee’s regulation/system innovation hackathon. The participants in this session included Professor Goh Hak-soo from Seoul National University, CEO Oh Byung-il of Jinbo Network, Executive Director Lee Jin-hyu of Dongbang Healthcare Company, CEO Cho San-gu of Wehome, Research Fellow Cha Doo-won of the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning, and 4th Committee Member Choi Seong-jin. They held in-depth discussions on how to further develop the hackathon so as to improve its performance.

In his welcoming address, 4th Committee Chairperson Jang Byung-gyu said, “President Moon’s administration has been responding actively at the pan-departmental level to abolish or amend regulations and systems that stand in the way of innovation,” adding, “Regarding regulatory innovation, collective effort and practice in building new rules bound by social trust is very important. We shall further develop the regulation/system innovation hackathon into an effective tool for building and fostering social trust.”

In his welcoming address, President Kim Dae-hui said, "The Fourth Industrial Revolution is not merely an industry as it can also have a direct effect on the regulatory innovation policy of the government or the regulatory systems. Therefore, a paradigm shift in the current regulatory system is urgently required so that the regulations do not hinder the growth of new industries." He further emphasized: "There are certain regulations that impede creativity and innovation in the private sector. For the growth and development of new industries, we need to introduce innovations that will make these problematic regulations more flexible.”

Inquiries: Director Kim Jeong-eon, Department of ICT Strategy Research (043-531-4340)
         Senior Researcher Lee Si-jik (043-531-4357)