[Yoon Seok-yeol Elected] Ahn Cheol-soo Likely to Lead New Government's Science and ICT Policy Steering

Leveraging Expertise in Science and Technology
Likely to Take the Helm of Policy
Shinyonghyun, Kim Sungtae, Kim Changkyung, etc.
Emerging ICT Talents in the Next Government

(From left) Shin Yong-hyun, former member of the People’s Party; Kim Chang-kyung, professor at Hanyang University; Kim Sung-tae, former member of the People Power Party

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol announced on the 10th his commitment to fostering the science and information and communication technology (ICT) industries by stating, "We will leap forward as a leading nation in science and technology through support for advanced technology innovation." Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party and a strong candidate for the next transition committee chairman, is expected to take the helm in science and technology policy by leveraging his expertise.

A newly emerging figure among ICT talents is Shin Yong-hyun, a close aide of Ahn Cheol-soo and former People’s Party lawmaker. A physicist who served as the 12th president of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science and vice chairman of the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, he was also a member of the 20th National Assembly. He was one of the key architects behind the so-called ‘555 Strategy’ that Ahn promoted during his presidential campaign. This national management strategy proposed that by creating just five ultra-gap technologies, South Korea could have five companies on par with Samsung Electronics and become one of the world’s top five economic powers. Shin is also known to have helped draft major science and technology pledges for Ahn’s campaign, including the establishment of a new Deputy Prime Minister position for science and technology.

Former IT special advisors who led the People Power Party’s digital platform policies are also drawing attention. Kim Sung-tae, a former People Power Party lawmaker who served as IT special advisor and head of the ICT Convergence Policy Promotion Headquarters during Yoon Seok-yeol’s candidacy, is notable. Kim has advocated for the necessity of a Deputy Prime Minister-level control tower such as a ‘Digital Convergence Innovation Department’ (tentative name) to establish a master plan.

Many former bureaucrats turned professors are also expected to be included in the transition committee. Representative figures include Professor Kim Chang-kyung of Hanyang University (former Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology) and Professor Park Young-il of Ewha Womans University (former Deputy Minister of Science and Technology), both of whom were highly involved in the establishment of the core vision of the ‘Digital Platform Government.’ There is also Kang Sung-joo, deputy head of the ICT Korea Promotion Headquarters in the election campaign (former head of the Korea Post), and Go Jin, co-head of the People’s Sympathy Future Policy Group (chairman of the Korea Mobile Industry Association). Go Jin, son of former Prime Minister Ko Gun, is an IT expert with a background in computer engineering and served as a member of the 4th Industrial Revolution Committee, a special presidential committee.

Current People Power Party lawmakers have also actively contributed IT proposals. Assemblywoman Cho Myung-hee, a female lawmaker in the science and technology sector, has led and actively communicated with female experts in space, science, and ICT fields. Assemblyman Kim Young-sik, a member of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, and Assemblyman Lee Young, a former venture entrepreneur, have also served as communication channels as IT experts both inside and outside the National Assembly.

However, unlike the appointment of various talents in science and technology or ICT fields at the camp level by both the People Power Party and the People’s Party, media policy experts are notably absent. Both parties have not voiced clear positions on media policy since their presidential campaigns. Although they held several roundtable meetings with representatives from the online video service (OTT) industry to capture the 2030 voter demographic, these were limited to listening to industry grievances such as regulatory conditions.

Within the industry, there is anticipation because Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, has emphasized ‘development through science and technology’ as a core pledge before unification. It is explained that Ahn’s emergence, as the founder of the security software (SW) company AhnLab and an IT entrepreneur, will raise political understanding. An IT industry insider said, "It is still premature to comment on individual policies as the transition committee has not yet been formed, but there is indeed a sense of expectation."