Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho stated that he would combine public and private capabilities and revise relevant laws to enable Korea to secure world-class digital capabilities and become a leading nation in the field of advanced technology. To this end, he mentioned that he would improve the preliminary feasibility study system to generate major results.

The Korea Industrial Technology Association held the '63rd KITE Breakfast Seminar' at El Tower on the 8th.

At this seminar, Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT gave a presentation on the theme of Korea’s innovation led by science, technology, and digital technology.

Minister Lee Jong-ho stated that now, as we enter the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the entire order is being reorganized around technology, is the time to lead South Korea's innovation once again through science, technology, and digital technology.

To this end, it is necessary for the public and private sectors to join forces to amplify the impact and speed of innovation, and the government stated that it would provide focused support for leading fields and basic exploratory research that are difficult for companies to undertake alone.

He said he would transition to cutting-edge, leading-edge strategic technologies and strive to create major achievements that will lead economic and social transformation.

As stated in his inaugural address, leaps and rapid growth can only be achieved through science, technology, and innovation, and he announced that he would make choices and focus to achieve this.

In particular, it was stated that the preliminary feasibility study system would be improved to respond quickly and flexibly and generate major results, and it was mentioned that the R&D preliminary feasibility study system would be improved by December of this year.

It was announced that the scope of investigation would be increased from the existing total project cost of 50 billion won or more to 100 billion won or more, and that the investigation period could be reduced from the current 9 to 11 months to 6 months through review for total project costs of 300 billion won or less. Regarding the project details, he stated that the plan is to improve the current policy, which prohibits modifications after passing the preliminary feasibility study, to allow for changes to the plan even after passing the study, taking into account rapid environmental changes and challenges.

In addition, views were expressed regarding the leap to become a space power, AI semiconductors, and talent development.

In addition, opinions were presented regarding the full-scale expansion of national digital innovation, cybersecurity, and leading the digital economy through digital strategies.

Minister Lee Jong-ho stated, “We will pool the collective capabilities of the public and private sectors to secure world-class digital capabilities and strive to leap forward as a top-tier nation in advanced technology fields such as artificial intelligence,” adding, “To this end, we will work to comprehensively integrate public and private data and revise necessary relevant laws.”