Let's benchmark Ireland! The writer of this article is a professor in Computer Science at NamSeoul University. ... Ed. Korea's Humax is sweeping the global market with its Set-top Box item. Settop Box may be seen as mere hardware which acts as a receiver for satellite broadcasting or digital TV, but 70% of developers are SW (software) development manpower. We cannot but be surprised to see that in the case of aircraft manufacturer Boeing, SW developers comprise 70% of the workforce. In the event of a cellular phone, Samsung Electronics' export dutiful son product, one million step's SW programs are embedded while 60% of R&D manpower amount to 7,000 people as SW developers. So, export's faithful son is IT hardware, but it is possible since SW plays a filial daughter role. The value of Korea's SW industry (packaged SW, IT service, DC development service, & DB production search) was 20.6 trillion won (around $22 billion) as of 2005, according to KIPA (Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency). This is forecasted to grow to 40 trillion won (around $42 billion) by 2008. On the basis of packaged SW, Korea posted 15th position globally with $5.5 billion and accounted for 0.9% of the world market. Accordingly, the domestic SW industry also is singing the praises of this steep growth rate. In the case of the SW industry, it is a high value-added industry whose value added rate amounts to 40% (IT industry average value-added rate is 20%). The SW industry is a knowledge industry, with significant job creation effects, thereby enhancing efficiency and international competitiveness of other industries such as manufacturing, finance, logistics and service, needless to say contributing substantially to the national economy. This is of help in creating high-grade jobs, which is a concern due to the problem of youth unemployment these days. In addition, I believe that if SW is not included into 20 tasks of the IT839 strategy's three fields, it will be a useless thing. To that extent, the SW is an industry that holds diversity to be applied to all fields. Noteworthy Ireland's internal factors Ireland opened its embassy in Seoul in 1989. At that time, Ireland's GDP per capita was $6,000, the same as other poorest countries in Western Europe. However, currently Ireland has overtaken England, with $36,000 in terms of GDP per capita and is more than 30% higher than Western Europe's average GDP. Over the past 15 years, Ireland has been transformed into a rich country. While Korea has been crawling, Ireland has been flying higher and higher. This was possible because Ireland became an information knowledge power. Ireland is continuing its high growth of 9% annually since the 1990s. The prime mover is Ireland's SW industry's growth, which pays off enough for Ireland to serve as Europe's SW capital. At the moment in Ireland, seven companies among 10 globallyrenowned SW enterprises are developing and manufacturing SW and are exporting by producing 40% of Europe's packaged SW and 60% of business application SW. Such success was attained by attracting multinational SW companies, but in recent years Ireland's SW companies also are showing dazzling growth. Ireland's success factors are excellent human resources, practical education, low corporate cost as well as tax benefits, and communication as well as logistics system's development etc. Effective and flexible governmental support measures also bolstered such success. In particular, an effective education system and governmental systems were Ireland's internal factors that differentiated it from other European countries. Moreover, latecomer Ireland fostered its environment, including bold policy enforcement such as the corporation tax's drastic reduction and exemption. Namely, since Ireland's pressing task was being concentrated on employment creation through investment inducement differently from other Europe countries that accomplished already considerable economic growth as well as welfare levels, labor unions' subduing, and also the differential taxes environment was not severe. Likewise, the country's natural rapport with the United States in the process of overseas investment inducement acted as a positive factor for Ireland along with the American IT industry's development. Flexible education system needed As regarding suggestions for Korea's SW industry, Ireland's example can be summarized as follows: First, the necessity of a favorable investment environment and overseas investment's strategic attraction can be named. Ireland example is a good case, which shows that unconditional attraction of multinational corporations is not of help for domestic industry nurturing, and a strategic approach to overseas investment attraction becomes a foothold for industry development. Especially, Ireland's case shows that if one country can foster an investment environment enough to lure multinational companies, the domestic SW industry also can develop on that basis. The second suggestion is the establishment of a flexible education system. It is common knowledge that venture-oriented SW industry development's core element is funds and superior manpower's supply. Yet, the doubt on whether how effectively to be able to nurture IT manpower with established education system, has been raised ceaselessly. In that regard, Ireland's is a good example of building an effective education system to meet industry. It is an urgent problem for us that our education system also must be changed more flexibly and to be able to meet industry circles' demand with reference to Ireland's example. Boost efforts for SW industry's development Ireland, the poorest country in Western Europe in the past producing nothing but "a stone and a potato," became an advanced country within the shortest period by continuing job creation through SW manpower nurturing. Providing Korea also lures prominent SW development companies from abroad continuously and pursues job creation by benchmarking Ireland, we also can become one of the wealthiest countries in the world. What I would like to emphasize at present, is that Korea has to transform rapidly into a knowledge-based industrial nation so that we can survive by corresponding to this Irish model, because China holds enormous competitive advantages in manufacturing. Thus, to boldly transform into a knowledge-based society, we have no option but to adopt an SW nurturing policy. Since our competitiveness is the nation's education fever, Korea has to seek national development's motivating power in human resources education training. What's more, by forging a SW development hub complex, Korea should lure world prominent SW R&D centers. We have to allow joint-venture companies to settle in Korea as a global SW development center by concentrating on manpower nurturing as well as support facilities so that they can dominate the future market by proceeding jointly with next-generation SW development. To devise Korea's SW industry's globalization, we have to help not only SW engineers, the core manpower, but also marketing, system design, and user interface (UI) to make inroads abroad. To successfully implement the SW industry-nurturing plan, governmental policy support is absolutely necessary. Therefore, a newly established SW manpower nurturing committee directly under the authority of the President of the Republic of Korea is necessary, alongside the enactment of special SW laws. Accordingly, attracting from overseas R&D centers for SW and to nurture skilled talent, can bear fruit for Korea's IT hardware export industry. To prevent the outflow of real national wealth, the establishment of a basic SW Laboratory also is urgent in the interests of securing SW core technology. Such efforts for the nation's SW industry's development are a shortcut toward becoming an advanced country with highgrade job creation.