Ministry of Science and ICT to Foster Strategic Technologies and Future Industries Next Year for Leap to Global Power

Ministry of Science and ICT 2023 Work Report
Nuriho 3rd Launch... Cloud and OTT Go Global
Continuous Response to Prevent Kakao Outages... Strengthening Mid-Tier Plans

Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The Ministry of Science and ICT will invest 25 trillion won in strategic technologies by 2027 and foster a space industry ecosystem, officially launching efforts to nurture future industries in 2023. To prevent a recurrence of the KakaoTalk outage caused by a data center fire, it will establish a permanent disaster crisis management response system and promote diversification of mid-tier 5G plans as it marks the fifth year of 5G commercialization.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced its 2023 work plan on the 28th.

Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "In an era of technological transformation brought about by the COVID-19 crisis, national competitiveness will depend on which country develops science, technology, and digital capabilities swiftly and effectively. As a ministry that designs the future, the Ministry of Science and ICT will lead Korea’s leap forward by realizing a global science and technology powerhouse and a model digital nation in 2023."

The Ministry outlined eight major tasks to implement three key strategies: fostering strategic technologies and future industries, full-scale digital diffusion, and securing talent and regional foundations. These tasks include ▲ activating the space economy ▲ nurturing national strategic technologies ▲ securing future industries based on new technologies ▲ digital normalization ▲ global expansion of K-Digital ▲ realizing a safe and inclusive digital society ▲ cultivating and securing core talent ▲ and regional science, technology, and innovation. Through these, the plan is to realize a global science and technology powerhouse and a model digital nation.

Specifically, it will promote the third launch of the Nuri rocket with private companies in the first half of next year and invest 2.0132 trillion won over ten years until 2032 to develop next-generation launch vehicles. It will enact a special law to establish the Space Aviation Agency and build a comprehensive support system for space industry development to lay the foundation for innovative companies to emerge.

Investment in national strategic technology research and development (R&D) will be increased by more than 10%, with a total of 25 trillion won invested by 2027. Joint public-private R&D projects in quantum technology, next-generation nuclear power, and others will also be actively launched.

To secure future industries based on new technologies, the ministry will focus on nurturing core technologies in five major fields: quantum, advanced bio, carbon neutrality, 6G, metaverse, and blockchain.

Based on artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, it will promote representative AI projects that solve social problems and designate 2023 as the inaugural year of AI normalization. It will also build a super-large AI infrastructure to fully advance the Digital Platform Government.

It will establish a new digital order and promote the global expansion of K-Digital. Digital legislation will be revised, and through the K-Cloud project, it will secure world-class AI semiconductor technology and create a global ecosystem. Support for overseas expansion of OTT services will be strengthened.

To prevent repeated digital disasters such as data center fires, a permanent response system will be established, and a digital service safety law will be pursued. It will expand telecommunications infrastructure in rural farming and fishing villages and diversify 5G plans in the 40?100GB range.

To secure core talent, a two-track strategy of rapid and flexible talent development and long-term support will be implemented. To respond to population decline, it plans to attract 50 overseas scholars at the expert level and 1,000 at the emerging level by 2027.

For balanced development, it will build a hub platform linking regional universities and government-funded research institutes to serve as a think tank and establish measures to strengthen the competitiveness of regional digital ecosystems.

Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

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