Choo Kyung-ho: "Innovation Needed in Industry, Talent, National Safety Net, and National Governance"

Policy Forum for Establishing National Future Strategy

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho stated on the 3rd, "To upgrade the growth trajectory of our economy, industrial innovation, talent innovation, national safety net innovation, and national governance innovation are necessary."

On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Choo made these remarks while presiding over the 'Policy Discussion for Establishing a National Future Strategy' at the Government Seoul Office.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo said, "Recently, due to the rapid decline in potential growth rate, population decrease, innovation stagnation caused by rent-seeking, deepening of the dual economic structure, and rigid operation of institutions, there are concerns whether the Korean economy can maintain its growth momentum in the future. To make another leap forward at this new historical turning point, it is very important and urgent to prepare the right national policy vision and strategy to navigate the era of great transformation based on a thorough analysis and forecast of Korea's development path, current status, and future change drivers."

This discussion was organized to discuss the basic direction and major policy tasks for Future Korea based on the major domestic and international future trends and forecasts researched by the National Future Strategy Task Force.

At the discussion, Ko Young-sun, Vice President of the Korea Development Institute (KDI), pointed out that innovation is delayed due to rent-seeking behavior by interest groups, the dual structure of the economic society, and rigid operation of foundational institutions such as research and development (R&D), education, and the labor market.

Vice President Ko emphasized, "With the emergence of new technologies and industries such as AI and biotechnology, intensifying technological hegemony competition, climate and demographic changes, and the reorganization of the international order, the internal and external environmental changes of our economy are accelerating, causing fundamental changes across education, labor, financial markets, fiscal and welfare systems. To stably manage future risk factors and turn them into new opportunities for advancement, continuous innovation is necessary, and a practical and open approach to future changes is required."

The Mid- to Long-term Strategy Committee plans to select the basic direction and core tasks for Future Korea by synthesizing opinions discussed at this forum, public surveys, and feedback collected from the Future Forum, and to concretize them by the first half of this year.

Additionally, the Ministry of Economy and Finance will hold the '60th Anniversary International Conference on the Five-Year Economic Development Plan' on May 25, where former Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, KDI Presidents, international organizations, and domestic and foreign experts will engage in in-depth discussions on the present and future of the Korean economy, and the outcomes will be reflected in the National Future Strategy.