"Minimizing Inter-Ministerial Conflicts... The Secret to City-State Survival Is 'Taking the Lead'" [Regulation-Free City, Mega Sandbox] ⑧

[Interview] Baekin Ki, Director of the KOTRA Singapore Trade Center
City-State Singapore Specializes in Leading New Industry Issues
Concurrent Senior Government Roles Break Down Ministry Silos
Policy Efficiency Focused on 'Profit Generation'
"

"Singapore excels at setting policy directions and taking the lead on emerging issues. Whenever a new issue arises, it is among the fastest in the world to overhaul its systems, solidifying its image as a 'leading nation.'

On October 1, at the KOTRA Singapore Trade Center, Baekin Ki, the Director, shared his assessment in an interview with The Asia Business Daily, highlighting Singapore's drive to create a city free of excessive regulation. Having interacted with key local figures, Director Ki analyzed, "The secret to this country's regulatory innovation lies in the speed of policy decisions and a system that operates strictly on economic logic."

Singapore is a city-state with a relatively small population, even among Southeast Asian countries. He noted, "There is an underlying sense of urgency that every ministry must take the initiative on new issues or risk being left behind."

Singapore consistently ranks first or second in the 'AI Innovation Index' published by global market research firms. Despite having relatively few companies with proprietary AI technologies, the country is highly rated thanks to the government's rapid efforts to establish a regulatory foundation. Consistent and reliable policies and infrastructure have been credited with elevating the nation's overall AI capabilities.

Director Ki cited the "removal of silos between government ministries" as a key reason why new industry policies could be advanced so quickly. Currently, Singapore's Prime Minister also serves as the Minister of Finance, and the Minister for Manpower doubles as the Second Minister for Trade and Industry, with senior officials often holding multiple roles across ministries.

He explained, "With conflicts of interest between ministries minimized, even when new industries emerge, the government can respond from an integrated perspective. Not only the ministries but also academia recognizes institutional flexibility, such as university presidents holding concurrent positions, breaking down barriers to research projects. I see this as a 'victory of the system.'"

Another core competitive advantage of Singapore is that policy always starts with a focus on 'generating profit.' Director Ki emphasized, "Singapore has established a structure where the government sets the direction and the private sector experiments within that framework. It is a city-state that is thoroughly profit-driven, with a strong will to commercialize and a tolerant attitude toward failure."

Despite the strengths of the Singapore innovation model, Director Ki believes that it is realistically difficult to transplant it directly to Korea. This is not only due to differences in population size and national systems, but also because the very way social consensus is formed is fundamentally different.

He said, "Since Singapore is run under strong government leadership, the process of incorporating diverse citizen opinions into policy is relatively weak." He added, "Korea must maintain its speed while upholding democratic procedures. We need to create our own 'democratic innovation model.'"