The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI, President Kwon Ho-yeol) held an online joint forum on the theme of “The Developmental Direction of the Digital New Deal and the Green New Deal as the National Innovation Strategy”.

Hosted jointly by the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST, Chairman Won Kwang-yeon), the National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK, Chairman Kwon Oh-kyung), and the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRC, Chairman Seong Kyoung-ryung), and organized by the Korea Information Society Development Institute and the Korea Institute of Construction Technology (Chairman Han Seung-heon), this seminar was designed to seek development measures for the “Korean New Deal” (enacted on July 14, 2020), represented by the Digital New Deal and the Green New Deal, as a national innovation strategy in the post-COVID-19 era, together with the business, social, scientific and technological communities.

The NST, NAEK, and NRC have so far held a total of four planning forums* from the second half of 2019 to the present in order to actively support the innovative growth of the Korean economy, by seeking “measures to strengthen industrial competitiveness based on Korea’s science and technology innovation”.

* First Joint Forum: The War for Global Industrial Leadership and Measures to Strengthen Korea's Technology Leadership (STEPI - KRICT) (Aug. 1, 2019)

*Second Joint Forum: Measures to Strengthen AI Competitiveness to Lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution (KISDI - ETRI) (Oct. 29, 2019)

*Third Joint Forum: How to Create an Innovative Ecosystem? (KIST-KEI) (Dec. 19, 2019)

*Fourth Joint Forum: How to Become a Biotechnology Leader in the Bio Economy Era? (KRIBB - STEPI) (Jan. 16, 2020)

This seminar began with a keynote presentation delivered by Chair Professor Kim Jin-hyung (Chung-Ang University) to announce the direction of the national innovation strategy under the title of “How Should We Cope with the New Normal Era?”

In the first presentation, Chairman Yoon Je-yong, (Korea Environment Institute) presented strategy for supporting the successful implementation of the Green New Deal and complementing the major issues under the theme of “Directions for Successful Promotion of the Green New Deal.” The goals, key issues and directions - such as goal setting, legal reform, and regional participation - were discussed in a bid to ensure that the Korean version of the “Green New Deal” realizes sustainable development as a transformative “New Deal”.

The second presentation was given by Kwon Ho-yeol (KISDI) under the title of “The Meaning and Tasks of the New Deal Policy for a Leap Forward to a Digital New Deal Powerhouse,” presenting an effective plan for ensuring the success of the Korean version of the “New Deal”.

The third presentation was given by Chairman Han Seung-heon (KICT) under the title of “Smart SOC Strategies and Challenges for the Korean New Deal.” Chairman Han discussed what the smart SOC means in terms of both public safety and the safety of the overall industry, and presented specific strategies in R&D, industry, and policy areas for the effective realization of the Korean version of the “New Deal” in the SOC field.

The last presentation was delivered by General Manager Han Sun-hwa (NST) under the title of “The Korean Version of the New Deal Policy and the Role of State-funded Research Institutes in the Science and Technology Field”. GM Han emphasized that cooperation among the government-funded research institutes under the national think-tank groups should lead the future agenda of “digitalization and green future” and the present policy and technical measures.

The panel discussion chaired by Chairman Yoon Seok-jin (Korea Institute of Science and Technology) was joined by Park Yoon-kyu (Information and Communication Policy Officer, Ministry of Science and ICT), Director Jung Byeong-gi (Green Technology Center), Professor Lee Myung-joo (Myongji University), Chairman Moon Yong-Sik (National Information Society Agency), CEO Lee Kyung-sil (SALTLUX), Editorial Writer Ahn Hyun-sil (The Korea Economic Daily), and other experts from government departments, academia, research and industry. The participants engaged in an in-depth discussion on the implementation strategy and developmental direction of the Korean version of the “New Deal”.

NRC Chairman Seong Kyoung-ryung said, “I hope that this forum will serve as an opportunity to establish practical strategies and development plans to turn the comprehensive “Korean New Deal” plan - which is designed to overcome the economic, social, and scientific crisis in the COVID-19 era and prepare for the post-corona era – into a national innovation strategy for converging the science and technology fields with the economic and social fields.”

Chairman Won Kwang-yeon of the NST said, "It is time to pool our wisdom so that we can overcome the prevailing economic and social crises and innovate industrial fundamentals by strategic, challenging and effective utilization of big data, the most important and powerful resource of the twenty-first century."

NAEK Chairman Kwon Oh-kyung said, “In order for the Korean version of the “New Deal” to succeed, it is necessary to take a deep breath and clarify our perception of the shifting economic paradigm rather than obsessing about short-term performance.”

To observe the COVID quarantine guidelines on daily life, this forum was held in the meeting room of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with only the minimum number of participants present, including presenters, panelists, and staff members, and was joined by members of the general public via online streaming.