National Academy of Engineering of Korea Proposes Strategies in Three Key Areas: Energy, AI, and Talent

The National Academy of Engineering of Korea announced on April 30 that it will hold a policy forum in collaboration with the National Assembly Futures Institute at the main auditorium of the National Assembly Library in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 14th of next month.

The event is expected to be attended by Woo Wonshik, Speaker of the National Assembly, as well as lawmakers from various parties and experts from academia, industry, and research institutes.

This policy proposal has been designed in the form of a 'Brief,' focusing more on policy priorities than previous policy publications, in order to support substantive policy discussions amid the rapidly unfolding presidential election landscape.

The National Academy of Engineering of Korea will hold a policy forum at the National Assembly on the 14th of next month. Photo by National Academy of Engineering of Korea

During the policy brief presentation session, the following topics will be presented: Background and General Overview (Park Sukyung, Vice President of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea/Professor at KAIST), Energy (Park Jongbae, Professor at Konkuk University), AX (AI Transformation) (Koo Hyunmo, Adjunct Professor at KAIST/former CEO of KT), and Talent (Joo Youngchang, Professor at Seoul National University).

In the energy sector, the proposals include a market-driven transformation of the power industry, fostering the power industry as a national core growth engine, expanding the power grid under national responsibility, and promoting new energy industries based on DDD (Direct Current, Decentralization, Digitalization).

In the AX (AI Transformation) sector, the recommendations call for establishing and operating AI computing infrastructure, accelerating the construction of a data superhighway for the AI industry, promoting the development of K-Foundation Models, building systems for the development and utilization of application-specific AI models by industry, and formulating 'customized AI policies' to enhance the global competitiveness of domestic companies.

For the talent sector, proposals include fostering top-tier talent through a university-industry-government "one team" approach, innovating graduate programs in science and engineering (by shifting to organization-centered research systems and restructuring R&D accordingly), innovating retraining programs for employees and specializing graduate schools, and strategies to attract engineering talent from a youth perspective.

Yoon Euijoon, President of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, stated, "We are now in an era where the government alone cannot solve crises, and it is essential to have a structure and policy foundation that enables close cooperation among academia, industry, research, and government. We will continue to make active efforts to ensure that the proposed policies can be implemented through close communication with the legislative branch."