By Kim Hyelin and Lee Jihae


President Moon Jae-in on June 18 said his proposed "Digital New Deal" will "create a foundation for the digital economy going forward so that Korea can move toward a pace-setting economy in the post-coronavirus era."

He said this in a meeting with staff of Douzone, a company specializing in data and artificial intelligence (AI), at the company's Gangchon campus in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Province.

Last month, the president proposed the Korean New Deal to combine the Digital New Deal and Green New Deal for overcoming the economic crisis incurred by the pandemic and seeking new solutions. His visit to Douzone was the first visit related to the Korean New Deal and focused on the Digital New Deal.

"The Digital New Deal we are pursuing will create a so-called 'data dam' to maximize the data utilization that will become the foundation of the digital economy going forward," he said, listing AI development, the smartification of industrial complexes, innovation industries and non-contact services.

President Moon also mentioned tasks requiring focus in the process of implementing the Digital New Deal, saying, "It's now necessary for data generated in both the public and private sectors to be boldly opened up so that business can utilize it."

"During the process of opening up data, it needs to be thoroughly turned into de-identified forms so that private information is not fringed upon." 

Because the digital economy might eliminate jobs in existing sectors, he said, "We have to simultaneously implement national projects to transfer people who used to work for old industries into newly created jobs."

"I believe that another daunting task facing us is to create a so-called inclusive digital economy by narrowing this gap."

President Moon also asked Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, who also attended the meeting, to urge the government to speed up innovation in regulation for the sake of a successful digital economy.

The government by next month aims to specify the president's plans and announce a general blueprint for the Korean New Deal.

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