Seoul Institute Hosts '10th Anniversary Seminar of Seoul Public Investment Management Center'

Sharing Achievements on the 10th Anniversary of the Center's Establishment... Discussing Strategies to Effectively Respond to Future Environmental Challenges

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Institute announced on the 24th that it will hold the '10th Anniversary Seminar of the Seoul Public Investment Management Center' at the International Conference Room of the Myeongdong Bank Hall on the 25th.

The seminar will proceed in the order of: ?Opening remarks by Park Hyung-su, President of the Seoul Institute ?Congratulatory speeches by Kim Ui-seung, First Deputy Mayor of Seoul, and Lee Suk-ja, Chairperson of the Planning and Economy Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council ?Introduction of the Center by Yoo Ki-young, Director of the Seoul Public Investment Management Center at the Seoul Institute ?Presentations and discussions for Parts 1 and 2.

Park Young-min, Research Fellow at the Seoul Institute, who will deliver the first presentation, will speak on ‘Achievements and Mid-to-Long-Term Development Strategies of the Seoul Public Investment Management Center.’ Park will summarize the center’s achievements and limitations over the past 10 years and emphasize the need to expand the center’s functions outward from its existing role of overseeing project departments to complementing and supporting public investment projects. He also presents a new future vision as ‘Seoul’s Professional Partner for Public Investment Projects’ along with three major promotion strategies and ten implementation plans as mid-to-long-term development strategies.

The second presentation will be given by Professor Ko Gil-gon of Seoul National University on the topic ‘Roles and Future of Local Public Investment Management Centers.’ Professor Ko points out that despite the establishment of the local autonomy system, criticism and distrust regarding the management capabilities of fiscal investment projects still persist. He suggests that to enhance the management capabilities of local governments’ fiscal investment projects, local specialized institutions, rather than central specialized agencies, should take on the role, focusing on feasibility analysis and evaluation methodology research tailored to each local government.

The discussion panel includes ?Professor Kim Tae-il of Korea University’s Department of Public Administration as chair ?Kwak Jong-bin, Seoul City Finance Planning Officer ?Kim Do-il, Director of the Gyeonggi Public Investment Management Center at the Gyeonggi Research Institute ?Kim Beom-sik, Invited Senior Research Fellow at the Seoul Institute (former Director of the Seoul Public Investment Management Center) ?Jo Ki-hyun, Director of the Local Investment Project Management Center at the Korea Institute of Public Administration.

The first presentation of Part 2 will be delivered by Choi Young-eun, Associate Research Fellow at the Seoul Institute, on the topic ‘Changes in Types (Patterns) of Seoul Public Investment Projects and Response Strategies.’ Choi identifies five recent types (patterns) of Seoul public investment projects: facility complexification, three-dimensional land use, regional balanced development projects, maintenance and improvement of existing facilities, and newly emerging project types. As future tasks for responding to these types (patterns), she suggests improving the public investment project management system, researching analytical methodologies and strengthening review capabilities, and spreading performance and communication.

Following this, Kim Nam-yong, CEO of the accounting firm Saegil, will present on ‘Current Status and Activation Plans for Seoul’s Private Investment Projects.’ Based on the background of the private investment system and the current status of Seoul’s private investment projects, Kim derives implications and proposes three activation plans for Seoul’s private investment projects: project promotion types that can improve profitability, strengthening the role of the Seoul Public Investment Management Center, and improving the private investment system.

The discussion panel includes ?Professor Ha Heon-gu of Inha University’s Asia-Pacific Logistics Department as chair ?Kim Kang-su, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Development Institute ?Park So-young, Research Fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements ?Oh Ji-hoon, Executive Director at Kakao Corp. ?Yoon Hyung-ho, Honorary Research Fellow at the Seoul Institute (former Director of the Seoul Public Investment Management Center).

President Park Hyung-su said, “While the rapidly changing domestic and international economic conditions and citizens’ expectations continue to rise, new types of public investment projects different from those of the past 10 years are emerging due to the deteriorating environment of public investment projects, and the workload of private investment projects is expected to increase further.” He added, “I hope that the seminar’s presentations and expert discussions will serve as an opportunity to derive a more advanced direction for Seoul’s public investment projects.”