1.35 Trillion Won for 'Data Dam' Construction... One-Third of ICT Budget Invested

The 2nd General Meeting of the 'ICT Budget Policy Council' Held

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As part of next year's 'Digital New Deal 2.0' policy, the government will invest approximately 1.35 trillion KRW, about one-third of the entire ICT sector budget, in projects such as the creation of a data dam.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 28th that it held the 2nd plenary meeting of the 'ICT Budget Policy Council' and finalized the ICT budget, including these details.

The total ICT budget for next year is 3.972 trillion KRW, an increase of 476.4 billion KRW (13.6%) compared to the previous year. Of this, 1.3736 trillion KRW is allocated to research and development (R&D), and 2.5984 trillion KRW to non-R&D sectors.

For the core of Digital New Deal 2.0, including the creation of the data dam, 1.3567 trillion KRW will be invested, an increase of 419.5 billion KRW from the previous year. The data dam is an integrated system where public institutions or private companies collect and process data and reorganize it into useful information. In addition, focused investments will be made in digital content, 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and software workforce development, and the K-cyber quarantine sector.

Some institutional improvements were also made. An exception was established so that if a representative is defined as a 'youth enterprise' under the 'Youth Basic Act,' they will not be excluded from government support projects due to capital erosion. On-site difficulties were also reflected and improved through the 'Public Project Guidelines and Fund Project Expense Execution Manual.'