National Information Technology Promotion Direction Briefing Session Held
Announcement of the 2019 National Information Technology Project Scale
Next year's national informatization budget: 5.7838 trillion won
On the 12th, the Ministry of Science and ICT, in collaboration with the National Information Society Agency, held the "2019 National Informatization Promotion Direction Briefing Session" at the Seoul Central Post Office. Approximately 300 participants, including ICT industry representatives and government officials responsible for informatization, attended the meeting. The meeting was designed to assist the ICT industry in preparing business plans for next year by presenting key government ministries' 2019 informatization promotion directions, procurement plans, and the scale of national informatization projects for 2019.

At the event, Jang Eun-hwa, a researcher at the Busan Metropolitan City Health and Environment Research Institute, received the Minister of Science and ICT Award for her contributions to protecting the health of local residents by establishing the first local government-wide air quality diagnostic and assessment system, providing analysis results on the causes of fine dust and weather information. Seventeen individuals from industry and research also received Ministerial Awards for their contributions to the advancement of national informatization this year.

In addition to awarding commendations to those who have contributed to the cause, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the results of a comprehensive analysis of the 2019 National Informatization Implementation Plan established by national agencies and local governments. Next year's national informatization budget is KRW 5.7838 trillion, a KRW 486.7 billion (9.2%) increase from this year. National agencies will invest KRW 4.6784 trillion, and local governments will invest KRW 1.1054 trillion. Looking at the scale of national institutions' information technology projects by type, information system construction and operation projects (KRW 3,597.3 billion, 76.9%) account for the largest proportion, followed by information technology R&D (KRW 736.8 billion, 15.7%) and information technology support projects (KRW 344.3 billion, 7.3%).

Meanwhile, starting next year, the national informatization project is expected to undergo a full-scale transformation into an intelligent one in response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. According to an analysis by the Ministry of Science and ICT, investment in ICT-based projects will reach approximately KRW 1.2 trillion, a significant increase (KRW 480 billion, or 60.7%) compared to the previous year. The order of importance is cloud (KRW 542.2 billion), big data (KRW 282.7 billion), AI (KRW 210.2 billion), IoT (KRW 187.9 billion), mobile (KRW 40.8 billion), and blockchain (KRW 7.2 billion).

This appears to reflect the high level of interest in and willingness to actively utilize intelligent information technology in order to improve the performance of information systems in each organization. The Ministry of Science and ICT, when reviewing and analyzing the national informatization implementation plan, selected projects with large ripple effects utilizing intelligent information technology as priority investment projects and requested budgetary cooperation from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

Looking at the major information technology projects for 2019, a new project is the "Establishment of a Next-Generation Social Security Information System (Ministry of Health and Welfare, KRW 29.8 billion)" that identifies and supports social security beneficiaries through big data analysis.

There are also projects that contribute to the safety and welfare of the people, such as the '119 Integrated Information System Construction (Fire Agency, KRW 5.9 billion)' that supports real-time monitoring by integrating the emergency rescue systems that are individually constructed and operated in 18 cities and provinces, and the 'Comprehensive Reconstruction of a Digital Budget Accounting System (Ministry of Strategy and Finance, KRW 21.5 billion)' that enhances existing information systems for the effective execution and management of national financial activities. It is noteworthy that many projects are reflected.

Major increased budget projects include strengthening the competitiveness of next-generation Internet businesses by supporting the costs of data purchase or processing for small and medium-sized enterprises and venture companies (Ministry of Science and ICT, KRW 103.2 billion, KRW 71.6 billion increase), activating the use of public big data (Ministry of the Interior and Safety, KRW 5.7 billion, KRW 1.9 billion increase), and revitalizing the data economy, as well as building and operating a next-generation Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) computer network to effectively detect and block money laundering and illegal foreign exchange transactions (Financial Services Commission, KRW 13.3 billion, KRW 9.4 billion increase).

At the event that day, Jang Seok-young, Director of the Information and Communication Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “The world is now moving beyond informatization to the super-technologyHe emphasized, “We are pursuing intelligence and, in line with this, a paradigm shift in the national information technology project is necessary,” and said, “We will continue to expand information technology projects utilizing ICT such as big data, AI, and cloud, and provide solid support so that all citizens can experience high-quality, customized services.”

ICT capabilities are a key driving force for navigating the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This anticipated increase is welcome news. However, to achieve results that exceed, or even exceed, the budget allocated, the relevant authorities must be supported by rigorous efforts and fair oversight.