AR Travel? Phone That Removes Slang?... National Development Project Results Revealed

National Development Project Target Revealed on January 2
Final Competition Features 6 Entries

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Interest is growing ahead of the final stage of the 2021 National Development Project, directly planned by Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The National Development Project contest is a project aimed at gathering citizens' ideas on national issues and solving them through private sector initiatives. It is the first project planned by Chairman Choi since his inauguration at KCCI.

According to KCCI on the 30th, a total of six teams will compete in the final stage on the afternoon of January 2nd, the first Sunday of the new year. The teams include ‘Korea Game’ led by Chairman Choi Tae-won, ‘Sasohan Tonghwa’ mentored by Chairman Choi Jung-woo, ‘Nae Gwie Candy’ assisted by Chairman Jang Byung-gyu, ‘Paeopdo Chang-eopman-keum’ developed by Intel Korea President Kwon Myung-sook, ‘Kosssak’ by Silvan Group CEO Jeong Kyung-sun, and ‘Uri Dongne Byeong-woni Dallajyeosseoyo’ by Deloitte Korea Vice President Kim Hyun-jung.

The idea with the highest ‘Shinbak-su’ (a numerical measure of novelty) was ‘Korea Game’ by a middle school student team including Yoon Seo-young and family, which started from the question ‘How to revive the economy of Gangjin, Jeonnam, the hometown of grandmother’s house.’ It is reported that Chairman Choi Tae-won passionately mentored the team on prototypes of augmented reality (AR) games and ways to combine travel and accommodation.

‘Sasohan Tonghwa’ (Lee Bong-joo et al.) proposed a video call diagnostic solution for dementia prevention. POSCO Chairman Choi Jung-woo and President Lee Yoo-kyung focused their mentoring on whether dementia prevention tests have legal issues and the potential for commercialization.

‘Nae Gwie Candy’ (Yang Myung-jin et al.) is an idea to develop earphones or phones that filter out profanity to protect emotional laborers. Chairman Jang Byung-gyu advised that ‘software should be emphasized more than hardware’ and explained Krafton’s data accumulation cases. There were several face-to-face and non-face-to-face exchanges between mentor and mentee for technical advice.

‘Paeopdo Chang-eopman-keum’ (Baek Myung-gi et al.) is a platform for transactions related to the closure of self-employed businesses. Considering the reality where 9 out of 10 self-employed people close their businesses, the idea focused on a cost-effective closure system. President Kwon Myung-sook gathered venture companies with similar platform experience to provide suggestions on development potential and sustainability.

‘Kosssak, not Kosdaq’ (Kim Hyun-jae et al. family team) is an idea to create a trading platform like Kosdaq to protect food security amid the reality of having to pay royalties for a significant portion of overseas seeds. Jeong Kyung-sun, CEO and grandson of the late founder Chung Ju-yung, reportedly proposed establishing the world’s first social venture with the purpose of being an ‘accelerator for domestic farmers.’

‘Uri Dongne Byeong-woni Dallajyeosseoyo’ (Kim Jin-hyun and Ok Jin-ho) is an idea to use medical data to solve the problems of ‘3-minute consultations’ and improve hospital accessibility during nighttime and weekends. Mentor Kim Hyun-jung (Deloitte Korea Vice President) advised, ‘Since this is a regulated business, let’s start with what is possible.’

One contestant who received mentoring explained, “Since companies directly got involved, feasibility, innovation, and sustainability have greatly improved.” Another contestant advised, “If entrepreneurs provide continuous mentoring, it could greatly help startups, social ventures, and the creation of social value.”

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