[Asia Exclusive] "Green New Deal Investment Must Be Increased"

Kim Heung-jong, KIEP President, a Europe Expert with 19 Years at KIEP
"Strengthening Convergent Research... Tailored Results for Citizens, Government, and Academia"

Kim Heung-jong, President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. (Photo by Korea Institute for International Economic Policy)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Kim Heungjong, President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), is one of the leading European experts in Korea and contributes diversely to government policy development. Since joining in 2001, he has worked for 19 years at KIEP, a national research institute, and served as an expert advisory member for the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2007 to 2009. He has a solid domestic and international network and is regarded among the few domestic trade experts as having "broad knowledge and deep insight."

As a national research institute president with experience in Europe, he is deeply considering the government's 'Green New Deal' policy. He said the government's goal, announced on the 14th of last month, to invest 73.4 trillion won (42.7 trillion won in national funds) by 2025 to create 659,000 jobs is insufficient. Kim stated, "The Green New Deal is a creative destruction that creates jobs, industrial transformation, and new technology demand, and securing economic momentum through this is very important at this point." He added, "The European Union (EU) is investing over 100 trillion won. From our standpoint, where securing the country's economic momentum is essential, we need to invest more in the Green New Deal than we currently do."

Kim emphasizes that overseas cases should be adapted to fit local circumstances rather than adopted wholesale. For example, when implementing the 'zero carbon emissions for old buildings' policy under the Green New Deal, he argues that renovation work should be done by complexes such as rural and urban areas. He advised that the government should provide incentives to building owners and promote joint work by complexes to maximize policy effectiveness. Compared to Europe, Korea has much higher energy efficiency due to new constructions after the Korean War, making the conditions easier to achieve 'zero carbon emissions.' He also said that future vehicles like electric and hydrogen cars require a more sophisticated incentive system for corporate research and development (R&D) investments. He emphasized that the government should support R&D after requiring companies to present specific annual growth targets. Especially from the perspective of multinational corporations, ignoring overseas carbon emission standards such as those in Europe is impossible, so these goals are considered entirely achievable.

Kim stated that he will strengthen convergent research and activate flexible work systems to enhance employees' responsibility so that domestic and international issues can be flexibly reflected in trade policies. KIEP is the only one among the 26 national research institutes under the Economic and Humanities and Social Sciences Research Council under the Prime Minister's Office that deals with international economy and trade strategies. It has organizations specializing in trade and commerce, international macro-finance, and official development assistance (ODA) research. Therefore, collaboration within the institute is essential. For example, when analyzing the government's New Southern Policy, understanding issues such as politics, security, and labor movement is necessary, making convergent research within the institute increasingly important. Kim said, "KIEP is a place where convergent and interdisciplinary research collaboration is more necessary than any other institution," and emphasized, "To create synergy inside and outside the institute, it is crucial to communicate broadly and conduct joint research so that research does not become segmented or narrow."

Kim also said he will lead the flexibilization of work at KIEP. He said, "As the head of the institute and as a manager, it is important to create a workplace where employees work with responsibility," and added, "KIEP does not only provide services to the government." He continued, "Since more than 90% of the institute's operating expenses are supported by taxpayers' money, we must properly provide services not only to the government but also to the public," and added, "It is necessary to have task forces (TFs) tailored to the demands of various clients such as the government, the public, and academia to make the organization flexible."

■ Kim Heungjong, President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy

- April 2000 to April 2001: Honorary Fellow at the University of Oxford, UK

- June 2001 to May 2020: Vice President of KIEP (Head of 2nd Headquarters, Head of Management Planning Headquarters) / Director of the Center for Area Studies / Director of Research Coordination / Head of Europe Team / Senior Research Fellow

- March 2007 to February 2016: Vice President of the Korean International Trade Association

- July 2007 to July 2009: Expert Advisory Member for Korea-EU FTA at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

- August 2008 to July 2009: Fulbright Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley, USA

- March 2010 to February 2017: Adjunct Professor at Ewha Womans University Graduate School of International Studies

- September 2012 to May 2020: Adjunct Professor at Sogang University Graduate School of Technology Management

- June 2020 to Present: President of KIEP

- June 2020 to Present: Chairman of the Korea Pacific Economic Cooperation Committee (KOPEC)

- Incoming President of the Korean EU Association

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