KCCI Seeks 'New Solutions for National Development' Through Public Audition

First Project of Korea Chamber of Commerce Chairman Choi Tae-won’s Team: 'National Development Idea Contest'
'Beomsu Hyung' and 'Hanju Hyung' Scheduled for Mentoring? Selected Through Public Audition
Total Prize Money 229 Million Won, Easy Application Method on One A4 Page

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] New solutions to overcome COVID-19 and advance the nation are pouring in, including corporate ideas for national development, university professor teams' solutions for economic growth, and environmental organizations' stories of social progress.

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), announced on the 7th at the KCCI headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, that the 'National Development Project Contest' will be held.

At this event, Chairman Choi said, "There are many structurally long-standing challenges such as social polarization, outdated systems, and weakened industrial competitiveness, and COVID-19 has added tasks like digital transformation, expanded polarization, and household debt. In this reality where national challenges have accumulated, fundamentally different solutions from before are needed."

This initiative reflects the consensus of 17 KCCI chairpersons, including Choi Tae-won, Kim Taek-jin CEO of NCSoft, Jang Byung-gyu Chairman of Krafton, Lee In-yong President of Samsung Electronics, and Gong Young-woon President of Hyundai Motor Company, who agreed that "it is time to create healthy and diverse innovations led by the private sector."

The contest began with the question, "Will quality of life return as the economy recovers to pre-COVID levels?" Companies judged that the resolution of structurally long-standing issues could no longer be postponed, and agreed to gather national capabilities from businesses, civic groups, and citizens to find 'different' solutions and lead the country to an advanced economy. Additionally, companies are also taking social responsibility for national difficulties.

This aligns with the 24th KCCI Chairman Choi Tae-won's commitment to promote national development through communication. In fact, at the first town hall meeting in March, Chairman Choi stated, "We cannot do anything alone. Opinions must come from labor groups, civic organizations, and many government officials."

Chairman Choi said, "I believe economic growth and social problem-solving are not solely the responsibility of the government and the National Assembly. If we find independent ideas with practical potential through private-sector collective intelligence, investments will follow in the economic sector, boosting our economic vitality."

Regarding this, Professor Jung Hyuk of Seoul National University evaluated, "The role of companies is shifting from 'simple producers' to 'socioeconomic connectors' linking capital, labor, ideas, and production. The private-sector-led contest can be a core project of this initiative."

In fact, Germany held a hackathon (Wir vs Virus) to gather COVID-19 solutions, collecting ideas from about 28,000 citizens. It helped fill the public education gap caused by COVID-19 with a 'private-sector-led non-face-to-face education platform' and contributed to enhancing public health rights with a 'COVID trauma treatment platform.' The United States also resolved stalemated issues caused by vested interests through a private idea contest platform (Challenge.gov).

The contest will be held continuously, with awards given once a year. The grand prize winner will receive 100 million KRW, and other prizes include three excellence awards (30 million KRW each), three merit awards (10 million KRW each), and three honorable mentions (3 million KRW each), totaling 229 million KRW in prize money.

The entry barrier is very low. Citizens or company members wishing to apply can simply submit a 1-2 page A4 document or a video outlining the proposal reason, project overview, and expected effects via the contest website. The deadline for the first contest is September 24.

The selection process is also noteworthy. An external advisory panel of KCCI conducts the first stage document screening, and business leaders provide 'Stage 2 CEO mentoring.' Similar ideas will be grouped into teams, and KCCI vice chairpersons will directly help further develop the ideas. Currently, Kim Taek-jin of NCSoft, Kim Beom-su Chairman of Kakao, and Lee Han-joo CEO of Bespin Global serve as vice chairpersons.

The third stage audition will be held for about 10 teams that have undergone business mentoring. Around 10 diverse judges (business leaders, professors, consulting CEOs, famous chefs, communication experts, etc.) and the public will determine the rankings of the 10 teams.

To win, proposals are evaluated on whether they help solve national agendas, whether they can be led by the private sector, and are scored highly on ▲purpose alignment ▲private-sector leadership potential ▲impact, along with ▲innovation ▲feasibility, according to KCCI. It is also reported that solutions to economic or social problems receive higher scores than politically charged issues.

To enhance understanding of the 'National Development Project,' a PRE audition will also be introduced. Similar to preseason games before the professional baseball regular season, submissions for the 'corporate' category will be collected by mid-July for a preliminary (Pre) audition. Ideas winning in the 'corporate' category will compete with those from the 'university' and 'general' categories, which will be accepted until the end of September, to determine the final grand prize winner by the end of November.

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