Revamping Outdated Administrative Regulations for Innovative Companies
Fostering Tourism as a National Export Industry
Expanding the National Support System for Cultural Content
The government has decided to accelerate regulatory easing for innovative companies, foster synergy between artificial intelligence (AI) and the manufacturing sector, and promote policies to develop the tourism and content industries in order to enhance national competitiveness. The government has also announced that it will respond with an all-out, cross-ministerial effort to address the issue of South Korea's national competitiveness ranking dropping by seven places in the national competitiveness assessment released last week by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, compared to last year.
Lee Hyungil, Acting Minister of Strategy and Finance (1st Vice Minister), is presiding over the 'National Competitiveness Policy Council' on the 27th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, with related ministries and private experts attending, delivering opening remarks. Photo by Ministry of Strategy and Finance
Lee Hyungil, Acting Minister of Strategy and Finance (1st Vice Minister), presided over the 'National Competitiveness Policy Council' on the 27th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The National Competitiveness Policy Council is a consultative body composed of vice-ministerial-level officials from relevant ministries, established to enhance national competitiveness. This meeting was convened to analyze the results of this year's IMD national competitiveness assessment, which was announced last week, and to discuss future directions for improving national competitiveness.
Lee stated, "There are limitations to objectively measuring a country's national competitiveness solely based on the indicators of a specific institution," but added, "It is necessary to closely examine and analyze the weaknesses in our economy pointed out by the IMD and use them as an opportunity to strengthen national competitiveness." Previously, the IMD had lowered South Korea's national competitiveness ranking from 20th last year to 27th this year out of 69 countries. This was the result of a decline in rankings for specific items, mainly in the areas of business efficiency and infrastructure.
Lee emphasized, "In order to achieve a major leap forward in the economy and industry by enhancing national competitiveness, efforts to improve the business environment are essential," and added, "We will actively pursue the rationalization of outdated and fragmented administrative regulations so that innovative companies can emerge in this era of digital transformation and rapid technological change."
He continued, "I hope each ministry will also pay attention to the way administrative services are provided," and added, "I ask that each ministry make efforts to sufficiently gather opinions from businesspeople, provide ample opportunities to explain the government's position, and ensure that civil complaints are handled appropriately and promptly."
Lee also stated, "AI is emerging as a core national strategy," and said, "We will work to establish an innovative ecosystem for the AI transformation and build a system for nurturing AI talent, aiming to create synergy with our strength in manufacturing." He further added, "We will foster the tourism industry as a national export industry and expand the national support system for cultural content," and said, "We will support the global expansion of K-Culture and systematically link it to national promotional strategies."
Lee said, "We will also review the overall science and technology infrastructure to meet the expectations of businesspeople and address any weaknesses," and continued, "To secure future growth engines, we will significantly expand support for young scientific and technological talent who will lead science and technology innovation, and create an environment where scientists and engineers can focus on research."
He also stated, "We will strengthen cybersecurity to protect national core infrastructure and personal information, and establish a whole-of-government cybersecurity response system to make the country safe from cyber threats." He added, "We will continue to improve outstanding areas such as economic performance and government efficiency, which saw an increase in rankings in the IMD assessment, and use these improvements as an opportunity to further strengthen national competitiveness."
Lee announced, "We will push forward these policies with a sense of speed." He added, "Through future meetings of the National Competitiveness Policy Council and other channels, we will make an all-out, cross-ministerial effort to enhance national competitiveness."
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