Ministry of Science and ICT Collects Opinions on 'Digital New Deal'... To Reflect in Korean New Deal Plan

[Asia Economy Reporter Seolgina Jo] The government has begun extensive consultations to promote the so-called 'Digital New Deal.' The collected opinions will be reflected in the 'Korean New Deal.'

On the 20th, the Ministry of Science and ICT held the '2020 1st ICT Policy Customer Representatives Meeting' at Post Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, with key figures from the ICT sector in attendance.

The ICT Policy Customer Representatives Meeting, started in 2013, is a policy communication forum where key figures from various fields such as industry, academia, and consumer organizations participate to share on-site difficulties and opinions for the development of the ICT industry.

This time, considering that there had been no official committee member replacements for some time, 16 new members were appointed from the ICT industry's industrial, research, academic sectors, and consumer organizations, and Professor Yeom Jae-ho of Korea University’s Department of Public Administration was appointed as the chairperson.

The meeting proceeded by introducing the Ministry of Science and ICT’s major work status, reporting on the government's progress in promoting the Digital New Deal to turn the crisis caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) into an opportunity, and collecting opinions from the policy customer representative committee members.

Jang Seok-young, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “Our new growth engine in the post-COVID-19 era will start from digital infrastructure based on Data, Network, and Artificial Intelligence (D.N.A.),” adding, “To successfully promote the Digital New Deal, we will actively communicate with the private sector and strengthen policy execution,” urging continuous interest and cooperation from experts in various fields.

Professor Yeom Jae-ho, chairperson of the Customer Representatives Meeting, said, “Our country's successful response to COVID-19 was possible not only because of the K-quarantine system but also due to the solid ICT foundation accumulated over 20 years,” and added, “We must promote policies not only to discover growth engines for the post-COVID-19 era but also to minimize damages occurring during times of change.”

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to reflect the opinions collected through this meeting in the Korean New Deal and hold a second meeting in the second half of the year to gather opinions from policy customer representatives on major ICT policies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.