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S. Korea to spend big on future growth industries
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's government and private sector on Monday unveiled a plan to invest 99.4 trillion won (US$87.5 billion) in the next five years to build up the country's future growth engine industries.
The blueprint, announced at the new national growth engine development meeting chaired by President Lee Myung-bak, calls for concerted effort to develop six key industries and 22 separate projects that can best help fuel the national economy.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy that drew up the comprehensive plan said energy-environment, transportation, advanced information technology, industrial conversion, biotech and knowledge services were picked because they have high possibility of success, and would have far reaching impact.
Of the total, the government will foot 7.9 trillion won that will go into high risk research and development programs, with 91.5 trillion coming from the business community.
It added that developing these areas could help resolve both economic and social challenges confronting the country, like stagnant employment levels.
"If the plan is successful, a total of 880,000 new jobs could be created by 2013," Lee Dong-geun, head of the growth engine development office at the ministry said.
After initially aiming to create 3 million jobs during President Lee's five year term in office, the government has lowered the target to 200,000 for 2008.
He also claimed that South Korean exports could reach US$306.9 billion in 2013 from $120.8 billion expected for this year, further bolstering economic growth.
"Progress in such key industries may finally help South Korea make it into the top 10 of global economies after hovering at twelfth-thirteenth place for the last 15 years," he said.
The official then said that the 22 separate projects have been divided into three parts with development of media convergence, cultural contents, product design, software, and next generation semiconductors, information technology and marine industries to be completed within five years.
Advanced mobile communications, fuel cells, light emitting diodes, solar cells, radio frequency identification tags/ubiquitous sensor networks, nuclear reactors, displays and healthcare technology are to be extensively developed within 10 years.
These developments are to be followed by such endeavors as greenhouse gas retrieval and use, new medicine, industrial materials, robotics, marine bio fuel, non-polluting coal and eco-friendly cars that could take more than a decade to fully develop.
Others at the gathering, held at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), claimed that the plan envisions the government doing more to remove unnecessary administrative red tape, creating new markets to fuel consumption and helping train qualified technicians.
Lee Jae-kyu, the dean at the graduate school of management at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), said the new plan aims to efficiently pool resources into areas that have the greatest chance of success.
The professor, who took part in the formulation of the masterplan, said to ensure that investments are spent wisely, each project will be reviewed and checked on an annual basis.
This view was echoed by Jay Koo, president of corporate planning and global technology at SK Energy.
The executive claimed projects were target-oriented and were all achievable if given the resources and time.
He cited plans to develop non-polluting coal could replace roughly 8 percent of South Korea's oil imports, while having the potential to become a competitive export product. The projects would require up to 22 trillion won in investment.
Koo added that using marine plant life to make bio-butanol could replace a fifth of gasoline consumption at a cost of 1.6 trillion won in investment, with money spent on nuclear energy technologies likely to allow the country to transform the industry into a export business.
Government policymakers, meanwhile, said that while critics may raise questions about the feasibility of such plans, the country had to seek new industries that could ensure growth for the country in the coming years.
South Korea growth have generally risen under its potential growth target of 5 percent in recent years, with the government forecasting growth to dip to the upper 4 percent range this year.
"Trying to find way to bolster growth must be sought if the country is to grow," said a official.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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