'Growth is the Democratic Party's Growth Strategy for Korea' Seminar
"Goal to Achieve 3% Economic Growth Rate Within 5 Years"
Establishment of 50 Trillion Won Fund and 2 Trillion Won Government Procurement
The Democratic Party of Korea has unveiled a policy blueprint aiming to achieve an annual growth rate of 3% within five years if it succeeds in coming to power. The party set a goal to nurture up to six global top-tier companies like Samsung Electronics and plans to actively support businesses by raising funds worth 50 trillion won. The strategy is for the government to build a cooperative system through a 'growth-first' policy so that companies can lead the growth of the Korean economy at the forefront.
On the 6th, the Democratic Party's Governing Plan Headquarters revealed these details at a New Year seminar titled 'Growth is the Democratic Party's Growth Strategy for Korea' held at the National Assembly. The core idea is a major shift from the Korean economy, which has been driven mainly by government fiscal policy, to an industrial policy centered on companies. Ju Hyung-cheol, head of the Democratic Party's Governing Plan Headquarters and K-Moksanism Headquarters, who delivered the keynote speech, said, "The next five years are the golden time. Through the 'growth-first' strategy, we will achieve a growth rate in the 3% range within five years from the current 1% range, and a 4% range growth rate within ten years."
They presented ten growth strategies focusing on three key growth engines: artificial intelligence (AI), K-Culture, and security. Head Ju emphasized, "In the future core technology ABCDEF areas, namely Artificial Intelligence (AI), Bio, Culture, Defense, Energy, and Food sectors, we will nurture 100 unicorn companies and six hectocorn companies (with a market capitalization exceeding 100 trillion won) at the level of Samsung Electronics."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
As seed money for this, they plan to establish a mother fund worth 50 trillion won and swiftly promote government innovation procurement exceeding 2 trillion won. This means implementing practical industrial policies such as direct financial support to companies and securing sales channels. Additionally, to become a leading AI powerhouse, they will push for the establishment of a 'National AI Data Center' comparable in scale to the Magnificent Seven companies (the seven representative major U.S. big tech companies including Microsoft). Furthermore, centered on K-Culture, they proposed linking 'culture-tourism-self-employment' to create a new growth engine in traditional service industries that surpass Japan. The goal is to attract 50 million foreign tourists through this initiative.
However, the Democratic Party's 'growth-first' strategy differs from the traditionally promoted 'inclusive growth' strategy of the party. There are concerns that the governing plan, which emphasizes growth over distribution, might undermine the party's value centered on distribution. Head Ju explained in an interview with Asia Economy, "While announcing the growth plan, some opinions suggest that growth is considered more important than distribution, but in fact, both growth and distribution are important," adding, "the strategy is to link the fruits of growth to an increase in good jobs, balanced development, and expansion of welfare resources."
In the political sphere, the governing plan unveiled by the Democratic Party on this day was analyzed as a strategy to quickly lead the 'economic growth' vision and focus on appealing to the moderate voter base amid increasing possibilities of an early presidential election. Head Ju said, "Success or failure depends on speed and execution. To achieve results, we will transform the current dispersed governance into a strong national control tower, strengthen expertise, and build a system that closely cooperates with industrial sites."
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