[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] As the government enters the second year of promoting the Digital New Deal, it has decided to apply artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G specialized networks across all industrial sectors. It plans to build a dedicated metaverse platform and promote the global expansion of smart medical projects, including AI precision medicine such as Doctor Answer.
On the 22nd, the Ministry of Science and ICT, together with related ministries, summarized the achievements of the first anniversary of the Digital New Deal and announced the main policy directions for the upcoming Digital New Deal 2.0.
Announced in July last year, the Digital New Deal is part of the national development plan, the Korean New Deal, with key projects such as the 'Data Dam,' which enables the private sector to utilize public data. The Korean New Deal 2.0, unveiled on the 14th of this month, aims to expand the achievements so far across land and industry and to strategically foster future new industries that will lead the global market. The directions include ▲ strengthening private sector utilization based on digital infrastructure construction ▲ digitally spreading the results of key projects to all regions and industries ▲ strategically fostering global expansion and new industries in addition to boosting domestic demand.
First, the government will actively enable the use of digital infrastructure built so far, such as the ‘Data Dam’ and ‘5G Highway,’ in various private sectors. In the public sector, it plans to support the creation of an industrial ecosystem by encouraging private companies to use cloud services to foster private-led innovation.
The Data Dam construction project will continue, aiming to build 1,300 types of AI training data and 31 big data platforms by sector by 2025. Additionally, it will conduct pseudonymized data integration and sector-specific utilization competitions to enable the use of the constructed data across various industrial fields.
From a network perspective, 5G specialized networks will be applied early to core services with significant industrial and social ripple effects. A 5G specialized network refers to a network tailored to services introduced in specific areas. Alongside this, support for the global expansion of companies utilizing 5G will be provided. Institutional improvements and frequency supply to activate specialized network construction are also planned within this year. Detailed plans will be specified in the second half of this year through the '5G Convergence Service Activation Strategy.'
To expand AI utilization across industries and regions, large-scale leading projects centered on regional hubs will also be promoted. The ‘Regional Hub-Centered AI Expansion Plan’ is scheduled to be finalized and announced in July this year.
In the smart medical sector, while continuously advancing services such as ‘Smart Hospitals’ and ‘AI Precision Medicine (Doctor Answer),’ the government will spread successful cases nationwide to major regional hospitals and support global expansion. The government plans to create a metaverse ecosystem led by the private sector and supported by the government, centered on the ‘Metaverse Alliance,’ which includes 181 companies and institutions such as suppliers, demand companies, telecom operators, and media industries.
Additionally, digital twins will be applied to manufacturing site safety and core technology development will be pursued. Large-scale projects will be conducted to apply blockchain and intelligent Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to industrial sectors, and substantial resources will be invested in PIM AI semiconductors and AI foundational technologies.
Minister Lim Hyesook of the Ministry of Science and ICT said, "We will collaborate and communicate with the private sector to specify the sectoral implementation plans of Digital New Deal 2.0 and create innovative changes that the public can feel."
The Ministry of Science and ICT also shared the achievements of the first anniversary of the Digital New Deal on the same day. Over the past year, more than 70,000 people participated in key New Deal projects such as the Data Dam (about 50,000 people), public data youth internships (about 15,000 people), and digital learning centers (about 8,000 people). Approximately 170,000 companies and institutions have participated in the Digital New Deal, of which 95% are small and medium-sized ventures.
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