Korean Government Invests 32 Trillion Won to Promote New Growth Sectors

The Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, and the Small and Medium Business Administration held a joint briefing on their budget execution for next year on Sept. 9. According to it, they will invest 32 trillion won (US$27 billion) in the promotion of creative economy next year, and the budget goes mainly to innovative technology for economic reshaping such as 5G telephony, Internet of Things (IoT), and fintech.

Out of that, 6.3 trillion won (US$5.3 billion) is scheduled to be spent on finding new growth drivers and promoting startups, while 7.8 trillion won (US$6.5 billion) is invested to assist in the export business of small firms and those in new industries. Another 17.9 trillion won (US$15.0 billion) has been earmarked for the promotion of regional economies by means of urban regeneration and traffic network improvement.

The Pangyo Creative Economy Valley's groundbreaking is scheduled for this year, and it will receive a budget of 30.4 billion won (US$25.5 million). Once the construction of the industrial complex is completed, it is expected to link venture firms with regional Creative Economy Innovation Centers to facilitate industry-academic cooperation.

Korea will spend 5.0072 trillion won (US$4.1908 billion) on R&D in 2016, approximately 55.9 billion won (US$46.8 million) higher in comparison to this year. The country will launch a new lunar exploration program while enhancing the source technology of the Institute for Basic Science with heavy ion accelerators and the like. The Giga Korea Project will be launched by multiple government agencies so as to demonstrate the world’s first 5G telephony by next year as well.

In the meantime, 5.5807 trillion won (US$4.6708 billion) is being spent on turning decrepit industrial complexes into smart complexes. A total of 477 billion won (US$399 million) is to be granted for more small and medium enterprises to penetrate emerging markets such as India and Latin America and make better use of free trade agreements.

Expressway and railroad construction projects and regional industrial facility construction projects are to be given 16.3068 trillion won (US$13.6470 billion) in total, and 1.6395 trillion won (US$1.3724 billion) is to be invested in urban regeneration projects to spread information and communication technology to less-developed areas.