South Korea designated 21 technological areas as strategic next-generation growth engine industries that will add momentum to Korea's ecofriendly and sustainable economic growth in coming decades. The National Science & Technology Council (NSTC), an agency designed to improve efficiency of overall coordination of national science and technology policies, Monday unveiled the 21 technological areas at a meeting at Chong Wa Dae. President Roh Moo-hyun and ministers of 14 government ministries attended the meeting. The 21 needs-driven technological areas include regenerative medical science technology, nuclear fusion technology, tailored medicine technology, ecosystem preservation and restoration technology, ubiquitous social infrastructure establishment and management technology and technology for the prediction and detection of natural disasters. Climate change prediction technology, artificial satellite technology, realistic digital convergence technology, humanoid robot and brain-machine interface technologies, nano material technologies, highvalue added bio resource production technology, information security technology, supercomputing technology and clean and renewable energy technology were also included. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) plans to draw up a technology road map for the 21 strategic sectors by year's end and map out a detailed pan-government blueprint dubbed the "Integrated Promising National Futuristic Technology Development Plan" by August 2006 based on the road map. "If we take an effective approach and carry out the plans without glitches, we will be able to preempt the global market in those 21 technologies," MOST manager Kang Young-chul said. "We predict successful implementation of the long-term arrangements to boost Korea's per-capita gross domestic product to $35,000 and improve the overall quality of life in Korea as to rank above 20th among 30 OECD countries, up from our current 26th," he added. The MOST and 23 council members, including Samsung Electronics vice chairman Yun Jong-yong and world-renowned stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk, singled out the 21 technologies that would help Korea sustain a robust economic growth in the 2020s and 2030s, the ministry said. In line, the NSTC said it has earmarked an 8.8 trillion won investment budget for national research and development (R&D) projects to be performed in 2006, up 12.5 percent from the investment executed in 2005. The majority of the R&D budget was allocated on shoring up future growth engine industries, encouraging small and medium enterprises and fostering creative talents. The government raised its prospective funding on next-generation industry promoting projects to 785.5 billion won, up 33.9 percent from 2005, and that on fostering creative manpower to 402.2 billion won, up 131.3 percent.