President Moon: "Digital Economy Will Clash with Existing Industries... Need to Accelerate Regulatory Innovation" (Comprehensive)

"South Korea's New Deal is about building a 'Data Dam'..." Explained by comparing to the 'Hoover Dam' during the US New Deal that ended the economic depression

President Moon Jae-in held a roundtable meeting with employees developing innovative services combining data and AI during his visit to Duzon Bizon, a big data platform operating company located in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on the 18th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in emphasized on the 18th that "when the digital economy is activated, it will encounter regulations tailored to existing industries," adding that "regulatory innovation is important."

On the morning of the same day, President Moon visited the 'Duzon Bizon' Gangchon Campus, a data and AI company located in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, and had a tea meeting with employees. In his closing remarks, he said, "The government is working hard on regulatory innovation, but I hope it speeds up," according to a briefing by Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok. Kang added, "He also asked Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Hong Nam-ki and others present to make efforts for harmonious coexistence between the digital economy and existing industries."

The data and artificial intelligence (AI) sector is considered a core area to achieve a leading economy in the 'post-COVID-19' era. During the tea meeting, President Moon explained, "The digital New Deal we want to pursue is to create a so-called 'data dam' to maximize the utilization of data, which will be the foundation of the digital economy in the future," adding, "The data dam will gather data generated through networks of both public and private sectors." He further elaborated, "The more the collected data is standardized, combined, and processed for extensive use, the smarter the artificial intelligence becomes," and "This will revive our economy and lay the foundation for the digital economy, enabling Korea to advance as a leading economy in the post-COVID-19 era."

President Moon stated, "First, it is necessary to boldly open up the vast amount of data generated by the public and private sectors so that companies can utilize it," and "In the process, it is essential to thoroughly create de-identified data to prevent any infringement of personal information."

However, he cautioned, "While the digital economy will advance and innovate our industries and create many jobs, it may eliminate jobs in existing industries," urging, "The nation must simultaneously undertake projects to transition workers from existing industries to newly created jobs." He also emphasized that reducing the digital divide through inclusive policies is a major task.

President Moon Jae-in visited Duzon Bizon, a big data platform operating company located in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on the 18th, and listened to an explanation about innovative services combining data and AI. On the left is Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance. June 18, 2020.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Moon Jae-in administration declared a transition to a 'data economy' in August 2018 and has been promoting related policies. Following the announcement of the 'AI National Strategy' in December last year, it revised the three data-related laws (Personal Information Protection Act, Information and Communications Network Act, and Credit Information Act) in February this year to establish an institutional foundation. The plan is to invest 13.4 trillion won in the digital New Deal sector by 2022, creating a total of 330,000 jobs.

'Duzon Bizon,' which President Moon visited as his first field action related to the digital New Deal, is a data and AI specialized company. It has been recognized for contributing to revitalizing the local economy by providing small and medium-sized enterprises with a non-face-to-face (untact) service platform free of charge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 1,500 employees work there, about half of whom are local talents from Gangwon Province.

At the site, President Moon observed a demonstration of the process of developing AI services through data collection and processing. He then visited the workspace where AI service developers work, held a tea meeting with local talents, women re-entering the workforce after career breaks, and developers, listening to their difficulties and suggestions.

The event was attended by government officials including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, Minister of Science and ICT Choi Ki-young, and Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, as well as Blue House 4th Industrial Revolution Committee Chairman Yoon Sung-ro, Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Lee Ho-seung, and Science and Technology Advisor Park Soo-kyung.

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