Fostering Non-Face-to-Face Medical and Data Industries... 100 Trillion Won Invested in Korean New Deal

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The government plans to invest more than 100 trillion won over the next five years in the Korean New Deal. It is expected to expand the data industry and non-face-to-face medical services.

According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on the 5th, the government will increase the Korean New Deal, initially proposed at 76 trillion won, to over 100 trillion won and announce the detailed contents around mid-this month. The Korean New Deal is divided into the Digital New Deal, which fosters the data and artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and promotes non-face-to-face medical care and education, and the Green New Deal, which transforms public facilities into eco-friendly ones.

The government plans to focus on nurturing the data industry in the Digital New Deal sector.

The government will create big data platforms in 15 fields to enable companies to utilize data for various purposes and sequentially open 140,000 public data sets. Wi-Fi will be installed in all elementary, middle, and high school classrooms nationwide to supplement digital-based educational infrastructure. The government will also cultivate core AI talents.

Additionally, the government plans to expand non-face-to-face medical services, allowing patients to receive prescriptions without meeting doctors in person.

To prevent the spread of infectious diseases, temporary telephone consultations and prescriptions have been allowed since the end of February. Given the effectiveness observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government intends to expand this. Telemedicine measures are being discussed, including installing video consultation infrastructure so doctors can prescribe while viewing patients remotely.

However, since there are concerns about patients concentrating in higher-level hospitals and controversies over medical commercialization, the government plans to proceed as a mid- to long-term task by listening to various opinions and reaching social consensus.

To modernize the social overhead capital management system, the government will invest in building digital management systems for transportation and water resources. Smart logistics systems will also be established in cities and industrial complexes.

Green New Deal measures to prepare for climate change will also be introduced.

The government plans to remodel old daycare centers, public health centers, medical institutions, and public rental housing that consume a lot of energy to improve energy efficiency. It also includes selecting 100 companies with eco-friendly technologies and supporting them from research and development to commercialization by 2022. To establish the three major renewable energy bases?solar, wind, and hydrogen?the government will provide loans and install solar power facilities in buildings, houses, and rural areas.

The Green New Deal is driven not only by the goal of preventing rapid climate change but also by the recognition that if industries do not become eco-friendly, manufacturing exports may become difficult in the distant future.

Meanwhile, besides the Digital and Green New Deal projects, the government plans to announce measures to strengthen the employment safety net, enabling special-type workers and freelancers to enroll in employment insurance. It intends to push for legal amendments within this year so that substitute drivers, insurance planners, door-to-door salespeople, and others can escape the blind spots of employment insurance.

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