The S. Korean government has finalized an implementation plan to nurture 13 future growth engines, which includes the development of 5G (5th generation mobile networks)-based key services and the commercialization of 100 wearable star-quality smart devices. The government is poised to push up the nations’ per capita income to USD 40,000 by 2020 by fostering the13 future growth engines in various sectors.
At the 22ndEconomic Ministers’ Meeting, held on June 17, the government finalized “Future Growth Engine Implementation Plan,” a blue print for the nation’s economic growth, driven by the 13 future growth engines over the next eight years until 2020.
The implementation plan mainly revolves around i) expanding research and development (R&D) projects on key technologies and services in accordance with future market demands and ii) helping SMEs and venture firms play a leading role in burgeoning industries, expected to lead future economic growth. Also included in the plan are government support policies, such as expansion of domestically-developed parts, and materials, implementation of technical mentoring programs and promotion of open-ended global partnerships.
The 13 future growth engines are divided into nine strategic industries and four mainstay industries. The nine strategic industries are 1) smart car 2) 5G mobile network technology, 3) deep-sea offshore plant 4) customized wellness care, 5) wearable smart device, 6) intelligent robot, 7) disaster and safety management smart system, 8) immersive (e.g. VR, AR, 3D.) content and 9) new renewable energy hybrid system. The four mainstay industries are 1) intelligent semiconductor, 2) big data technology, 3) convergence materials and 4) intelligent Internet of Things (IoT).
Specifically speaking, the nation will set about ICT-backed industrial sophistication in the smart car, 5G technology and deep-sea offshore plant industries, where S. Korea has already secured a competitive edge. On the smart car front, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Republic of Korea (MOTIE) and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will jointly create a new road environment based on interconnected vehicle-road-ICT infrastructures, with a view to catapulting the nation to the world’s top three smart car powerhouses. And, with the aim of becoming the world’s first to commercialize 5G mobile network technology in 2020, the nation will push ahead with projects designed to produce five key services - SNS, mobile 3D images, intelligent services, ultra high-speed services, ultra high-definition (UHD) · holograms. Above all, the government is set to expand the share of SMEs’ participation in key R&D projects up to 40%. Efforts for the deep-sea offshore plant industry will be focused on nurturing domestic suppliers into small but strong companies, which hold engineering technologies or produce key materials and equipment on their own.
In the up-and-coming intelligent robot, wearable smart device and immersive content industries, the implementation plan gives priority to the provision of R&D support and the building of pilot infrastructures. With the aim of hitting KRW 9.7 trillion in the production of intelligent robots in 2020, the government will carry out large-scale thematic R&D projects. In addition, simulated real-environment test beds and safety technology support centers will be built and domestic production of parts will be promoted to assist domestic robot producers.
As regards wearable smart devices, the government will zero in on developing technologies for the production of key parts and adopt an open-ended technology development system, which encourages public participation, in a bid to commercialize 100 start products. In the field of immersive content, the government will go about fostering talent and promote the development of convergence contents in connection with other industries.
In the public welfare sector, dedicated to public safety and health, the government aims for welfare enhancement and industrialization through the development of systems and infrastructures and through the systemization of relevant laws. For customized wellness care, application service technologies and contents will be developed based on the development of wearable biosignal gaugers. The results of such technology and content development will be tested in carefully-crafted pilot programs. By doing so, the government aims to have the nation ranked in the world’s top five by 2020.
In the field of disaster and safety management smart systems, which has recently become a lightning rod for public attention in the nation, element technologies, such as disaster sensing and simulation, will be developed and a sensor-based disaster and safety management system will be set up in connection with intelligent IoT.
In the mainstay industries, covered by the implementation plan, the government will focus on laying the foundation for convergence-powered growth. In other words, the development of specialized technologies and the setup of systems and infrastructures will be pursued in connection withthe nine strategic industries.
When it comes to intelligent semiconductors, pilot projects, linked up to strategic industries (e.g. IoT, smart cars and wearable smart devices), will be implemented. In the field of big data analytics, the government will charge ahead with various projects, with a goal of increasing the size of the domestic big data market and the nation’s share of the global big data market to over USD1 billion each by 2020.
What’s more, the implementation plan for ‘Flagship Project’ on future growth engines, discovered by the Creative Economy Initiative Public-Private Partnership, has also been finalized. As for the projects for energy storage system (ESS), carbon fiber composite materials and obesity control, the private sector will take charge of pilot projects, technology development and facility investment, while the government will hammer out regulations and standards for the implementation of the pilot projects and provide R&D support. The private sector is planning on sinking approximately KRW 740 billion into the three projects.
“As inter-ministerial cooperation resulted in the finalization of the future growth engine implementation plan, the roles and missions of each government ministry has been clarified,” said Choi Mun-kee,Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning. “In fostering future growth engines, inter-ministerial cooperation and cooperation between the government and the private sector come before everything else. We will continuously fine-tune the implementation plan, closely following how the plan is being implemented and predicting future market changes.” Minister Choi added.
