“Ministry of Science and ICT should be elevated to Deputy Prime Minister level”
Yoo Sang-im, the Minister of Science and ICT, gives a speech during the farewell ceremony.
[Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Redistribution and DB prohibited]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Cho Seung-han = As Yoo Sang-im resigns from the position she held for 11 months, she urged the employees of the Ministry of Science and ICT to proactively lead changes and prepare for the future.
At her farewell ceremony held at the Sejong Government Complex, Yoo emphasized in her farewell speech, “Our ministry plays a leading role amid global technological hegemony competition, and our responsibilities are ever-growing.”
She remarked, “The next year and decade will become an era of even faster and more intense changes. The global competition in strategic technologies will become fiercer, and AI and digital technologies will fundamentally transform our daily lives and industries.”
She further stressed, “The golden time for policy is very short. If we hesitate even for a moment, we might fall behind in the global competition,” and urged, “Continue to learn new knowledge and technologies, and please carry on innovations through cooperation and communication, both within our ministry and across other ministries.”
Yoo also highlighted that in order to lead technological hegemony, the new government should elevate the Ministry of Science and ICT to a Deputy Prime Minister level department and accordingly allocate R&D budgets and establish a feedback system.
During her tenure, she identified four key focus areas: setting the stage for a leap in three game-changing technologies—AI, bio, and quantum; transitioning to a leading R&D system; nurturing talent and boosting the morale of science and technology personnel; and supporting the public based on science and technology and digital platforms.
She asked her successor, Bak Kyung-hoon, the new Minister of Science and ICT, to focus on elevating AI to the status of a top 3 global power and establishing a technology commercialization ecosystem.
She also emphasized efforts to eliminate the R&D preliminary feasibility system and promote the attraction of talent while preventing its leakage.
Lastly, she expressed her gratitude to the employees of the Ministry of Science and ICT, stating, “Even amidst the political upheaval from martial law to the presidential election, every member of the Ministry of Science and ICT has fulfilled their duties with unwavering dedication and unity, for which I am grateful.”
shjo@yna.co.kr