Four and a Half Years of Government Innovation Achievements at a Glance... Ministry of the Interior and Safety Hosts 'Republic of Korea Innovation Expo'

"Innovation Together, Opening the Future Together" Theme
Held from 3rd to 12th... Online Exhibition Hall, Conference, and Other Side Events

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 2nd that it will hold the '2021 Korea Innovation Expo' for 10 days from the 3rd to the 12th under the theme of 'Innovation Together, Opening the Future Together.'

This expo, held for the third time this year, linked various side events such as the opening ceremony, conference, and the Dasi Concert both online and offline, considering the COVID-19 quarantine situation. It is expected to be a place of communication and empathy with the public by summarizing the achievements of the past four and a half years to realize a government where the people are the owners, as promised by the Moon Jae-in administration from its early days.

So far, the government has strengthened national governance centered on social values and established various participation channels to enable public involvement throughout the policy process. According to the OECD announcement on July 9 this year, the trust in the Korean government ranked 20th among member countries, the highest ever.

At the opening ceremony of the Innovation Expo, vivid introductions to the changed daily lives of the people through innovative cases that improved the quality of life will be presented via the opening video. A place to communicate with the public about government innovation realized in their lives and to hear their wishes will also be prepared through the excellent works of the public video contest on innovation cases. Through the opening ceremony and dual live broadcast of the Social Innovation Hanmadang held in Ulsan, the two events of government innovation and community innovation will be linked and conducted.

The online exhibition hall features participation from over 80 institutions including central government ministries, local governments, and public institutions, showcasing more than 70 excellent innovation cases. Depending on the nature of the projects, the exhibition is divided into four themed halls: Safe Korea, covering social values, inclusion, and public safety; Together Korea, focusing on inter-agency cooperation and public participation in overall policy; Convenient Korea, themed on digital-based public service innovation; and Innovation Everywhere, highlighting regional and resident innovation efforts. Additionally, there are exhibition halls for the Failure Expo, which transforms experiences of overcoming failure into social assets, and the Innovation Enterprise Hall, which gathers collaboration cases between private companies and the government.

In particular, this expo has prepared a future innovation program linking online and offline to contemplate the future vision of Korea's innovation along with sharing innovation achievements. Various and substantial side events such as innovation conferences and expert lectures with government innovation experts and social activists, the Dasi Concert which comforts and encourages failure and retrying through music, and MZ generation talk concerts will discuss new development directions for Korea's future innovation.

The achievements and changes of the Moon Jae-in government's innovation efforts will also be showcased in diverse ways. In the 'Safe Korea' exhibition hall, visitors can see the changed government prioritizing public safety and caring more for the vulnerable. Various cases such as disaster relief payments to overcome COVID-19, emergency use approval of diagnostic reagents as part of K-quarantine achievements, and startup sandbox support for out-of-school youth entrepreneurship are available.

In the 'Together Korea' exhibition hall, cases of solving social problems one by one by cooperating with the public and breaking down barriers between institutions can be seen. Exhibits include innovative procurement that supports technological innovation by proactively purchasing innovative products, participatory budgeting systems where the public participates in overall budget projects, and digital learning centers where anyone can receive digital competency education near their homes.

In the 'Convenient Korea' exhibition hall, efforts and achievements in innovating public services for the convenience of citizens' lives can be experienced. Examples include integrated citizen-centered services such as life-cycle package services and Subsidy24, which provide seamless services anytime and anywhere, as well as mobile and digital-based public service expansion cases like the citizen secretary Goopy, mobile year-end tax settlement, and AI primary care linking medical data with AI technology.

In 'Innovation Everywhere,' cases where local governments and residents have solved regional problems through participation and cooperation are displayed. Vivid field cases that improved regional environments and enhanced the quality of life include Seoul's Eunpyeong-gu 'I-mom Taxi' for pregnant women and infants, Gyeongnam's 'Worker Workwear Laundry' for worker welfare, and the Gwangju-type jobs case that creates quality jobs. The four themed halls are also implemented in a metaverse platform where visitors can view the exhibitions through avatars in a virtual space.

Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said, "To leap forward as a leading country in the post-COVID era, a digital and green transformation is necessary, and government innovation must be the foundation for this," adding, "We will accelerate government innovation to overcome the COVID crisis and become a more inclusive society."

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