Chairman Seong-Ryung Seong is interviewing at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul on the day of the 5th. By Park Jong-sik, staff reporter [email protected]
“It is urgent to discover policies to overcome the Corona 19 crisis. Researchers have been facing head-to-head for several years over how to incorporate a’innovative inclusive country’ to prepare for the era of’post corona’, which will face considerable side effects. This is because the’Global Collection Exhibition’, which designs the future of Korea, has to present keywords to the people to solve the national challenges.” The Economic and Humanities and Social Research Association (Kyung Sa-yeon) under the Prime Minister’s Office is the headquarters of the Korea Development Institute (KDI), the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, and the Korea Rural Economic Research Institute. Since last year, the research group has been devoted to analyzing the economic and social shocks and global crisis caused by the spread of corona infection. They are also focusing on accumulating and analyzing data at home and abroad. In order to resolve the pandemic threat, it is necessary to hurry to publicize the policy alternatives made by affiliated research institutes to the government, academia, and civic groups. This is the result of a consistent order to improve the constitution of the study group right after the inauguration of the chairman, Byeong-ryung (67), who led the study group for three years from February 2018. He served as the first chairman of the National Balanced Development Committee in April 2003, when the participatory government was launched, and the head of the Blue House Policy Office in 2007. Even after entering the current government, he has been advocating’Inclusive State Theory’ as a national plan throughout his tenure as Chairman Kyoung-yeon. For this reason, he was evaluated as a’policy architect’ who laid the basic framework of the national plan even in the current government as well as the participating government. Earlier, at the end of January, Chairman Sung published a co-author with many academia and business officials. Like a man who is known as a work bug, he has been working around the country for the past two years, making the basic framework of the’Utopia Plan for the Rural and Fishery Villages’. It is to find a way to overcome the national hot issue, such as the’population cliff’ that has emerged in the past few years, the low birth rate and the aging population, and the mass retirement of the first-generation’baby boomers’ (55-75 years old) that have recently started in earnest. On the 5th, we met Chairman Sung at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, and listened to the reality and future plans of the’Inclusive State Theory’ and the’Rural Utopia Plan’ in his mind.
―In recent years, whenever a hot issue breaks out, it is evaluated that Kyung-yeon is actively engaged in external activities such as presenting realistic analysis or research results to lead to policy decisions.
“I was most worried about creating a new vision for Kyungsayeon, and which system should be properly structured for this. The 26 national research institutes under the research group have only thought of farming on their own land like farmers. It means that there were many aspects of staying in delivering only general information specific to the institute to citizens. It is also important for research institutes connected with government departments to refine their functions and tasks, but it is a bigger task to present a solution for setting a national agenda for hot issues that arise year-round at home and abroad. As can be seen from the progress of the Corona 19 incident, when a national challenge is encountered, comprehensive and complex research and analysis is required. To do this, all related organizations must work together to find a solution. Expert groups should not be confined to the field. With the concept of open research, various committees and research groups should be encouraged to find policy plans vertically and horizontally. This is the first issue that I emphasized after taking office as chairman three years ago. There are not just one or two agendas to look at domestically and internationally, including coping with diseases, employment issues, and improving the quality of life. Whenever a pending issue arises, the work of accumulating and analyzing data at home and abroad was strengthened. It is to design a predictable future Korean image. It is a paving stone to lay the foundation for predictable decision-making through future research, rather than thinking about the current situation connected to the past. This is why Kyoung-Yeon Ki’s slogan was’Global Exhibition Designing the Future of Korea’.”
-With the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration, I first heard the flag of the inclusive state theory. This debate is reigniting after the corona pandemic, so why do you think the inclusive state theory is more urgent now?
“Korea’s economic and social inequality has worsened since the coronavirus outbreak. When it comes to the world’s economic sector, it has entered the top 10 in the OECD (OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), while it is hovering outside the top 30 in a number of categories in terms of the area of life index. It’s almost at the bottom. Last year, Korea’s happiness index ranked 61st in the world. Welfare and distribution deteriorate, and youth jobs are even more scarce in addition to the mass production of the unemployed. Marriage has become difficult as the young people have difficulty living, and the fertility rate has also dropped to the worst level. The suicide rate is among the highest in the OECD member countries. This is the result of Korean society’s following the system of developing countries. At this point, it is also the reason why Korea should go beyond the era of developing countries and move toward an inclusive country. In particular, we must be wary of the phenomenon of populism (political behavior that caters to the popularity of the public) that is taking on the rise of deepened inequality. Specifically, the spread of Corona 19 raised the question of what is the essential role of the country as in the era of the Great Depression. Anglo-American liberalism, which had been considered an ideal state system, and Nordic countries with a strong welfare state tradition also showed powerlessness or limitations in front of the corona crisis. To prevent this vicious cycle from continuing in the future, there is no other choice but to solidify a democracy and inclusive strategy. An innovative inclusive state is a system in which the state takes care of the people’s livelihood and employment of the economic and social underprivileged while freedom, human rights and the rule of law are maintained. If the state does not take care of the living stability of the vulnerable, the unprotected people will be forced to tempt populism. The state should become a public good that pursues maximum inclusion and symbiosis in a given situation. This is the basic condition of an inclusive state.”
―If an innovative and inclusive state is not realized, the likelihood that the people will be driven to populism is very high.
“Up until now, Korea has fallen into the mission of a developing country and has been consistent with its growth. As a result, only a handful of them remain winners, and most of them have been driven into a structure where they are bound to be losers economically and socially. More failures have been mass-produced due to the corona crisis, and this hyperpolarization is likely to spread not only in Korea but also around the world in the next 4 to 5 years. If extreme inequality is not prevented, the collapsed self-employed, unemployed, and non-regular workers are bound to be swayed by the dictator’s populist political pledge. The most representative thing is the’trumpization’ phenomenon that the US showed. In the future, more’Trump’ may appear one after another globally.”
―Even if the engagement policy is implemented, there will be extreme economic and social turmoil at home and abroad for the time being after the corona ends.
“With the non-face-to-face activation caused by Corona 19, the world is rapidly increasing investment in this field. It is positive that it served as a catalyst as the pace of the 4th industrial revolution accelerated. On the negative side, however, advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robots will become more sophisticated, and the rapid environmental change brought about by the non-face-to-face phenomenon will sweep the world more. People who have invested heavily in this field, companies, and countries will go ahead, and those who are not prepared will lag behind. In addition, various discriminations are bound to intensify. At this point, it is necessary to present policy measures to lead the state in a positive direction. This means that the reason and purpose of the government must be clearly established. This is why the vision of an innovative and inclusive state is necessary. The state should protect the lives of its people as much as possible. We need to cultivate individual capacities and ensure that this leads to innovation as a whole. The key is to increase policy, institutional and social inclusion, and to develop innovation capabilities together. The combination of inclusion policy and innovation policy is urgent. In addition, it is necessary to look into ways to establish a strong social security system and devise a more faithful educational policy. The urgent need is to provide more employment opportunities and develop the skills of the people who work. The unemployed should return to the field through more education. In this way, social security, education, and inclusive labor should be in a virtuous cycle. In addition, technological innovation, start-up, and corporate innovation must be interlocked. The corona 19 incident served as an opportunity to confirm how important it is to combine inclusion and innovation policies.”
―I am curious about the concept and background of the’Rural and Fishery Utopia Plan’ that is currently being promoted.
“In the first place, we started out as a product of anxiety about what can be done to overcome the low birth rate and the aging population. The first generation of baby boomers, who have recently retired in large quantities, has emerged as a hot issue as it has become an axis of aging. In particular, in the bloated metropolitan area, there are many cases where there is no source of revenue after retirement. According to a recent statistic, the number of first-generation baby boomers in Seoul and other large cities across the country is close to 12 million. On the other hand, in farming and fishing villages, the population is rapidly decreasing and social security is not properly received. The government should reinforce social security benefits to rural and returning villagers with insufficient income to create a system in which cities and rural areas can coexist. It means that young generations and baby boomers should be able to interact with each other in rural communities. Looking at the current rural policies of the government and local governments, there is a strong aspect that has focused only on building basic infrastructure such as housing and medical welfare, education provision, environmental management, and caring. In the future, it is necessary to make a new version so that energy, resources, and information flow like water in cities and rural areas. In the farming and fishing villages, each member needs to reach the stage where each member can meet the desired’personal happiness and good life’, that is, the higher concept of self-realization. The space in which these conditions can be created and realized is none other than a rural community, and it is the’rural and fishing village utopia’ that collectively conceptualizes them.”
―So far, a number of forums and field discussions have been held nationwide in relation to utopia, a farming and fishing village. If you have any findings related to the regional regeneration project, please introduce them.
“The Korea Rural Economic Research Institute under the research institute has already devised a’Rural Fishing Village Plan’ as an alternative to solve the problems of underpopulation in agricultural and fishing villages and an aging population in rural areas. Until now, major success cases through regional regeneration projects have been discovered and policy support measures have been pursued for agricultural and fishing villages nationwide. Kyung-Yeon Kyung is supporting the’Rural and Fishing Village Utopia Planning Group’, in which government ministries and civic groups participate. Up to now, on-site discussions have been held on the subject of’The Rural and Fishery Utopia Practice Plan for an Inclusive Society’ in Seoul, Hongseong, Chungnam, Naju, Jeollanam-do, Hamyang, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Uiseong, Gyeongbuk. The planning team includes the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Forest Service, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the Korea Rural Community Corporation, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation, the Nonghyup, and the Small Business Agricultural and Fishery Cooperation Foundation. As a model of success, the’Seoha itopia (I + Utopia)’ plan of Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam can be mentioned. This is the result of the nationwide response of the’Small School Saving Movement’ that a civic activist posted. Since there are around 10 students in total, inquiries about moving to Seoha Elementary School, which are imminent to close school, were flooded across the country. After rigorous screening, 17 transfer students were selected and a housing complex for parents to live with was created. The housing complex is about to be completed by the end of this month. In Uiseong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, which was considered a depopulated area, startups and housing support projects for young people have been well received, and the population of returning villages has increased by more than 700 in the last five years. Both can be cited as representative examples of regional regeneration projects in agricultural and fishing villages.” Ik-rim Choi, Fellow, Hankyoreh Institute for Economics and Social Sciences [email protected] Transcripts organized by Joo-hyung Lee and Seul-ah Kim, assistant researchers