ETRI Calls for MIC's Functions to Be Enlarged In the "Information and Communication Policy Discussion Meeting," which was held at Lotte Hotel, Seoul on June 29, Yim Chu-Hwan, president of ETRI, said, "Korea has succeeded in reaching an industrial society in such a short period during the past history. However, during this period, the Economic Planning Board has played a critical role in the early industrialization of Korea through its coordination role of economic policies. Now, our society is transforming from an industrial society to a knowledge information society centering on IT. For this reason, in order to take off again, we have to enlarge and strengthen the function of the MIC (Ministry of Information and Communication) just like the Economic Planning Board in the industry." Meanwhile, Rho Jun-Hyong, Minister of MIC, said in this keynote speech, "The great achievements in the IT industry in the past are CDMA and Broadband Internet. But now we have to intensify the informatization of various fields - materials, automobile, distribution, construction, financing, machine, and agriculture - while accelerating the competition among these industries." He added, "We need a paradigm shift to expand competition. In particular, by removing the regulations that impede technical advancement, we have to prepare a new system for the introduction of innovative fusion services.