Assemblyman Yongbin Lee Publishes 'Public R&D Implementation Plan' National Audit Report Book

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Rep. Yongbin Lee (Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Gwangsan Gap) announced on the 6th that he has published a National Assembly inspection data book titled ‘Implementation Plan for Public R&D Centered on Social Value.’

The content includes the need for a paradigm shift in science and technology innovation policy that focuses on R&D capabilities for solving social problems centered on social value.

Through the inspection data book, Rep. Lee organized characteristics and cases to present the development direction of science and technology innovation policy and social problem-solving R&D from the perspective of a social value-oriented policy paradigm.

Based on this, he reviewed and summarized the problems of Korea’s science and technology innovation policy since the 2010s.

Rep. Lee said, “Globally, a science and technology innovation paradigm that finds its starting point not in industrial development but in responding to social challenges is newly emerging. Despite remarkable scientific and technological innovations, a paradoxical situation is unfolding where climate crisis, epidemic spread, social polarization, and environmental and energy issues are worsening, leading science and technology innovation policy to set sustainability as its basic direction.”

He continued, “In Korea, the policy framework of the past industrialization era is strongly in operation, so sustainability-oriented or innovation activities for solving social problems have been weakly addressed in science and technology innovation policy. To overcome this situation and connect it to the quality of life of the people, it is necessary to reorganize social problem-solving R&D centered on social value and shift its focus.”

In particular, he pointed out, “It is important that the planning, promotion, and evaluation processes of social problem-solving R&D reflect the participation of ordinary citizens at the social problem sites, that is, citizens and users, beyond the perspectives centered on companies and the science and technology community. To ultimately solve social challenges, ‘system innovation’ beyond popular approaches is necessary.”

Furthermore, he said, “Social wicked problems are structural problems caused by the current social and technological systems, making them difficult to solve by improving individual technologies or institutions. The process of system transformation through innovation should proceed by linking newly emerging transition-oriented innovation activities and policies and deciding core goals and missions through citizen participation.”

Rep. Lee also proposed a constitutional amendment emphasizing not only economic factors but also the paradigm shift of science and technology innovation policy.

He suggested revising Article 127 of the current constitution to include not only the goal of science and technology activities for national economic development but also the improvement of citizens’ quality of life through knowledge creation and solving social problems.

Rep. Lee plans to promote the enactment of a tentative ‘Science and Technology-Based Social Problem-Solving Promotion Act,’ which encompasses the expansion of social problem-solving R&D budgets, the establishment of independent budget programs and planning and evaluation systems suitable for their characteristics, citizen participation programs and living lab operations, support systems for legal and institutional improvements, and social innovation technology support.

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