Choi Mun-kee, Korea’s minister of science, ICT and future planning, underscored the need to establish a “creative economy,” saying the government’s initiative for tech start-ups and convergence between IT and other businesses is a must for the nation’s survival.

“The creative economy is only a name. It really doesn’t matter what we call it. It’s something that simply has to be done because it’s our only way of survival,” Choi said during an exclusive interview with The Korea Herald. 

He admitted that the government may not have started out on the right foot, as it was too engrossed in the technical details and less on communicating the concept, but said consensus seems to be building now.

“It’s all about creating: creating new ideas and creating new growth. Who’s going to do this? Everyone ― you, me, the government, everyone,” the minister said, adding that the initiative would most likely be succeeded in future administrations.

The Park Geun-hye administration’s plans had initially been met with nationwide skepticism.

But as the government and private sector began to produce a string of innovative ideas entwined with the creative economy drive, the questions have stopped.

Everyone is now well aware that the time is past ripe for Korea to take the next step, to break out of its shell as a “follower” and start focusing on creative sustainable value.

“Our efforts so far are by no means being taken lightly, but we know it’s time to move away from ‘made in Korea’ and shift closer toward ‘created in Korea,’” Choi said, citing discussions with his global counterparts.

The government is introducing a great deal of new investment incentives, namely mentoring services and safety nets for start-ups, in hopes to promote true and robust entrepreneurship that will in turn help shape a creative economy.

He also revealed that his ministry is planning to set up rules for promoting fair business between conglomerates and their ICT subcontractors.

By Kim Ji-hyun and Kim Young-won
(jemmie@heraldcorp.com) (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)