Pres. Lee Announces Investment in New Growth Engines

Renewable energy resources, the convergence of the broadcast and telecommunication sectors, and global healthcare service were chosen as new growth engines by the government yesterday.

President Lee Myung-bak specified 17 “new growth engine” projects in three sectors and chose 27 research and development plans on green technology at a joint meeting of the National Science and Technology Council and the Presidential Council for Future and Vision.

“When countries around the world are focusing their efforts to overcome the economic crisis, we should take one step further to look for new economic growth engines and make future-oriented investment not only to ride out the crisis, but also to prepare for the future,” he said.

In conjunction with the so-called Green New Deal announced last week, the government will support new growth engine projects and green technology plans over the next decade to turn them into competitive industries.

To induce private investment, the government and the private sector will create a "growth industry fund” worth three trillion won (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) by 2013.

If the new growth engines are successful, the government predicted a rise in added value of 700 trillion won (517 billion dollars) in 2018, up from 222 trillion won (164 billion dollars) last year, and raise related exports 18 percent to 900 billion dollars over the same period. In addition, 3.5 million new jobs could come over the next 10 years.

The new growth engines comprise six environment-friendly industries, six convergence technologies and five value-added services.

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