[Column] Ministry of Economy and Finance's Innovation Growth Promotion Team Facing Risk of Disappearance

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The Ministry of Economy and Finance is scrambling to extend the life of the Innovation Growth Promotion Team. With the organization's expiration deadline approaching on the 31st, they are actively explaining the situation to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which is responsible for government personnel and organization. The Innovation Growth Promotion Team was launched by former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon with the intention of fostering coexistence and discovering and nurturing innovation tasks, and was reorganized into a government promotion team in 2019 after Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki took office.

The Innovation Growth Promotion Team’s concern about its future reveals that its achievements have been minimal. Even in the case of Hadong Alps, environmental groups opposed the project, resulting in no final decision and a decision to re-examine from scratch. Within the ‘Hangeoreum Model,’ no conclusion was reached, and the conflict resolution was left to local governments. Is that all? New business operators hoping to use vacant houses in rural fishing villages for lodging are only allowed to operate under conditions of up to 5 cities/counties, within 50 houses, and for less than 300 days. The government is expected to announce new tasks as early as the end of this month, but even these are just a list, so whether actual results will be produced is uncertain. When asked what tasks are being promoted, the usual answer is "in preparation."

The main task, the Hangeoreum Model, has poor performance. Last June, Deputy Prime Minister Hong stated about the establishment plan for the Hangeoreum Model, "We will prepare various coexistence menus such as regulatory fairness, profit sharing, and financial support if necessary, so that selective combinations are possible." However, institutional improvements have been only partial due to conflicts among stakeholders in each task. The phrase ‘innovative inclusive nation,’ emphasizing growth and distribution in a virtuous cycle, which was highlighted at the launch of the Moon Jae-in administration, has become meaningless.

The future of the Innovation Growth Promotion Team may have been predetermined. It is argued that it was a mistake for the government to lead innovation, which is a private sector domain. Within the Ministry of Economy and Finance, there are concerns that if the organization dissolves in the future, it will become even more difficult to introduce new growth businesses. Other than the argument that there is a need to extend and operate the organization, other explanations seem unconvincing.

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