Yoon's Dilemma with the Ministry of Science and ICT Unable to Fulfill 'Promises' [Reading Science]

Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT is delivering opening remarks at the CEO meeting of the three major telecommunications companies held on the afternoon of the 11th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The Ministry of Science and ICT, which was trying to fulfill President Yoon Seok-yeol's key science and technology pledges, has fallen into a 'dilemma.'

On the afternoon of the 15th, Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT reported major work plans to President Yoon at the Yongsan Presidential Office. This included plans to reorganize committees. The core plan was to abolish 11 out of 28 committees related to the Ministry of Science and ICT and to downgrade the affiliation of 3 committees.

The problem is that the establishment of the Public-Private Science and Technology Innovation Committee, one of President Yoon's key pledges, was missing from the work report that day. Since the presidential election campaign, President Yoon pledged to actively guarantee private sector participation in science and technology policy decisions by creating a Public-Private Science and Technology Committee directly under the president, composed of researchers, developers, industry experts, and science and technology administrators. In particular, the Presidential Transition Committee selected this as a core science and technology task among the 110 national agendas in May. At that time, the Transition Committee explained, "To leap to a top 5 global power, a 'Public-Private Science and Technology Innovation Committee' will be newly established so that the government and private sector can jointly draft a national science and technology strategy roadmap," adding, "This organization aims to redesign the national science and technology system by strengthening private sector participation and inter-ministerial collaboration and coordination to become a science and technology powerhouse."

However, the major work report presented by Minister Lee that day did not include any content related to the establishment of the Public-Private Science and Technology Innovation Committee. It was an unprecedented occurrence that the minister in charge omitted a policy announced as the top priority national agenda during the Transition Committee period in the first presidential work report.

Regarding this, the Ministry of Science and ICT stated in a pre-briefing on the 14th that "since it involves legal amendments, it will be pursued later." A ministry official said, "The role of the Public-Private Science and Technology Innovation Committee announced during the Transition Committee period is to reflect private sector capabilities as much as possible in the process of reviewing and deciding major government science and technology policies," adding, "Under the current legal framework, this role is performed by the National Science and Technology Advisory Council, but to reorganize and strengthen it, legal amendments are necessary." He further explained, "The advisory function will remain with the Science Advisory Council. The key issue is how to handle the private sector-centered review function," and added, "We are considering a plan where the Public-Private Science and Technology Innovation Committee will take the lead in that role."

However, there is another obstacle. President Yoon has strongly pushed for reducing the number of committees since taking office. Since the National Science and Technology Advisory Council with the same function already exists, creating a separate Public-Private Science and Technology Innovation Committee would directly contradict this policy. Moreover, the Advisory Council is a statutory organization that cannot be easily abolished, and amending the law to transfer or reduce its functions requires negotiations with the opposition party, making it a difficult task. The Ministry of Science and ICT is thus caught in a 'dilemma' where neither option is feasible.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT's decision to abolish the 4th Industrial Revolution Committee, established in 2017 during the Moon Jae-in administration, has also sparked controversy. It was recently one of the most active committees, and there is no suitable committee to replace or absorb it. Many analyses suggest that it was simply struck down as a symbolic organization established during the previous administration. Furthermore, the day after the decision, President Yoon emphasized 'responding to the 4th Industrial Revolution' and recruited former Blue House Policy Chief Byun Yang-gyun, known as 'Roh Moo-hyun's strategist,' leading to evaluations that the actions are 'inconsistent.'