Next Year's Management Keywords: 'Unbundling', 'Jiyeok Divide', 'With Corona'

KCCI Hosts Next Trend Lecture on "South Korea in 2021: A Preview Amid the COVID-19 Era"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The key management keywords for 2021 are expected to be 'unbundling', 'regional divide', and 'with-Corona'.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held an online lecture on the next trends on the 23rd, inviting experts in economics, industry, and policy under the theme "Meeting South Korea in 2021 in advance in the era of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)".

The first speaker, Professor Sang-yoon Kim of Ewha Womans University’s Science and Technology Management Department, introduced that with the activation of the data economy next year, manufacturing unbundling will become a representative keyword in the industry. Unbundling refers to a method where a single product is completed through collaboration among specialized companies by dividing labor by area, technology, and function. Professor Kim said, "Unbundling, where specialized companies in software, hardware, and application fields collaborate to complete a single product, such as smartphones or autonomous vehicles that contain hundreds of components, will accelerate further," and added, "As de-globalization accelerates after COVID-19, there will be a tendency for regionalization from the manufacturing stage’s division of labor to logistics, sales, and final consumption."

The second speaker, Professor Jung-ho Park of Myongji University, pointed to 'regional divide' as the key topic for national policy and social change next year. Professor Park explained, "After COVID-19, the development of untact (contactless) technology will deepen the gap between regions and between large and small-to-medium enterprises," and added, "This is because as the service sector’s share increases and digital innovation spreads, physical environment or geographic distance no longer serve as barriers to entry." He diagnosed, "If untact technology expands across industries, regional industrial competitiveness will weaken, accelerating population outflow to Seoul and the metropolitan area in search of jobs, thereby weakening the foundation of local communities."

The final speaker, Professor Kwang-seok Kim of Hanyang University Graduate School of International Studies, predicted that an era of easing will come due to 'with-Corona'. Professor Kim first said, "COVID-19 will not end in a short period but has brought with it a with-Corona era where corporate management, daily life, and consumption coexist," and forecasted, "The lifestyle changed by COVID-19 is, in short, based on untact and everything is connected." He also predicted, "The gap between Wall Street (asset market, asset value) and Main Street (ordinary economy, currency value) will widen further as the value of currency continues to fall due to near-zero interest rates and active fiscal policies, while asset values relatively rise."

This lecture can be viewed from October 23 on the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s YouTube channel and the 'Online Seminar' section of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry website.

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