■ Event: 2023 3rd Digital Transformation Megatrend Conference

■ Time/date: 10:00 - 17:00, Thursday, December 7, 2023

■ Venue: Online live streaming from the Main Conference Room of the Post Tower (10th floor), (Korea Communications Commission and KISDI YouTube channel)

■ Organizer: Ministry of Science and ICT

■ Sponsor: Korea Information Society Development Institute

The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) held the 3rd Digital Transformation Megatrend Conference at the Main Conference Room of the Post Tower on Thursday, December 7. MSIT and KISDI presented a future strategy for establishing a new digital order to enable Korea’s transformation into a common and prosperous digital society, which was proposed as the direction for digital transformation in the first- and second-year megatrend research.

The digital transformation megatrend research is a collaborative project involving domestic academic societies such as the Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences (KICS), the Korean Institute of Information Scientists and Engineers, the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers, the Korea Association for Telecommunications Policies, the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration, the Korean Association for Public Administration, the Korean Association for Public Studies, the Korean Sociological Association, and the Korean Political Science Association. It was conducted as a series of joint seminars held by experts from industry, academia, and research institutes in order to study changes in each area of the digital transformation megatrend and the mid- to long-term policy requirements. The 2023 study focused on establishing a new order in the digital era, reorganizing the legal system, and deriving future strategies.

In his opening speech, KISDI President Kyoung-yul BAE said, “Due to rapid the development and utilization of new digital technologies centered on AI, we are now faced with new opportunities as well as new social problems such as the digital gap and personal information leaks.” He went on to say that Korea “must continue its efforts to enjoy the benefits of digital transformation justly and fairly so as to be able to lead global digital norms.”

In the first session, Senior Research Fellow Jeong-Eon KIM of KISDI’s Division of Digital Economy & Society Research, acting as the representative speaker, gave a presentation titled “The Establishment of a New Order and Future Strategies for Realizing a Common and Prosperous Digital Society,” followed by presentations by members of each academic society. In his representative presentation, Senior Research Fellow Jeong-Eon KIM diagnosed the socio-economic ripple effects of the digital transformation, reviewed the ongoing changes in each area, such as technology, industry/economy, public/administration, and society/institutions, and derived opportunities for legislative improvements aimed at protecting people's basic rights in the digital era.

In addition, he measured digital-related public capabilities and investigated rights awareness through surveys of public perceptions and expert surveys, and also shared the results of diagnoses of digital intensification and Korea's capability to respond to digital megatrends, and the related policy response directions. Lastly, he suggested seven future strategies, such as creating a foundation for digital innovation and growth in order to realize a common and prosperous digital society, securing sustainable social stability, establishing digital citizenship, improving the resilience of the public sector and its ability to respond to changes, leading global cooperation and solidarity, responding to information overflow and the “post-truth society”, and presenting new considerations of human uniqueness.

In an online survey (conducted by Gallup)* of the general public with samples allocated by gender, age, and region, the most common response was that expectations regarding the government's duties and responsibilities to protect citizens' rights and personal interests in the digital age have increased (53.9%), showing that an active government response is required as we move deeper into the digital age. The most important issues to be addressed when establishing a new digital order were “the establishment of a legal basis for consumer protection relating to digital assets” in the economic field (28.9%), followed by “the prevention of political conflicts due to fake news/disinformation, etc.”, (27.6%), “the prevention of the spread of false videos using deep-fake technology” (27%) in the field of culture/politics, and “the protection of intellectual property rights, copyrights, and invention rights for the results output by AI” in the social field (24.3%), thus confirming the agenda priorities considered important by the general public.

In the second session, presentations given and discussed on “Future ICT core technology development direction and technological innovation elements,” “Innovation, competition, and inclusive growth in the era of AI-based omnidirectional automation,” and “The role of central and local governments in building meta governance in the digital era” under the main theme “Research on technological innovation and institutional establishment measures."

Professor Seong-ho JEONG from the Department of Information and Communication Engineering of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies predicted future social changes resulting from the rapid evolution of digital technology by reviewing the developmental direction of future core technologies such as 6G, quantum internet, AI, the metaverse, and other related issues, and discussed the innovation elements for each technology and the related policy directions for establishing a new digital order.

In the second presentation, Professor Do-hoon KIM from Kyung Hee University’s Business School analyzed the impact of the spread of general AI on society and the economy and presented potential solutions to social and economic dilemmas - such as the excessive replacement of labor due to this trend - in the form of a data tax and an AI robot tax that would directly affect production and service activities, and also reviewed the possibility of inclusive growth.

He was followed by Professor Seo-yong KIM from the Department of Public Administration of Ajou University, who explained the coordinating governance and transcendental governance that flexibly changes in configuration in the problem-solving targets and areas using the concept of meta-governance to solve unprecedented complex social problems. He discussed various case analyses and confirmed that meta-governance is being formed beyond conventional governance. Furthermore, for a successful transition, he suggested fundamental changes in the existing administrative and policy framework, including changes in the behavior of bureaucrats, entrepreneurs, and citizens.

Professor Kyeong-won LEE (Next President of the Korea Association for Telecommunications Policies) from the Department of Economics of Dongguk University moderated the general discussion that followed. Professor In-ki HONG (President of the Korea Telecommunications Society, Department of Electronic Engineering, Kyung Hee University), Professor Hee-jeong LEE (President of the Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences) of Korea University Law School), and Professor Deok-ro Lee (President of the Korean Association for Public Administration) from the Department of Public Administration of Sejong University conducted a discussion about the researchers responsible for each academic society.

The third session, titled "Digital Security, Digital Finance, and Global Norms," included presentations on "Data Protection and Security Technology for the New Order," "Economic Impacts, Issues, and Conflicts of Digital Finance" and "Seeking a Solution for Political Polarization and Conflict Due to Digital Deepening."

The first presentation of the third session was given by Professor Jun-young HEO from the Department of Computer Engineering at Hansung University, who explained the norms required to build mutual trust in the new digital era and the cyber security technology that will support it. In particular, he introduced security utilizing Zero Trust and AI, trustworthy AI, and supply chain security – issues that have recently come under the spotlight. He also discussed the prospects for these technologies and the related R&D strategies and policy directions.

Next, Professor Hee-dong YANG from Ewha Woman’s University’s Business School shed light on the development and current situation of digital finance, explaining the basic definition of digital finance, as well as discussing the major trends, challenges, opportunities, and prospects for changes in the financial industry. In particular, he asserted that the growth of the digital asset market has led to innovation and growth in the financial industry, and urged the government to support the transition to digital finance, while also proposing a strategy that considers the digital financial ecosystem.

He was followed by Professor Woo-young JANG from the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy of Daegu Catholic University, who emphasized that Korean politics is facing a crisis beyond socio-political polarization, and that issues such as disinformation and democratic control of the digital platform government, which threaten the free public sphere, require innovations in democracy and constitutional systems amid the ever expanding digital environment. Furthermore, based on the results of a big data analysis, he revealed the trend and structure of political polarization in Korean society, which raises the need for information transparency and the strengthening of digital rights.

The general discussion in the third session was moderated by Professor Hwa-sun CHO (the next president of the Korean Political Science Association) from the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Yonsei University, while Professor Won-jun LEE (President of the Korean Institute of Information Scientists and Engineers) from the Graduate School of Information Security of Korea University, Professor Jae-gu KIM (President of the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration) from the Department of Management at Myongji University, and Professor A-jin CHOI (President of the Korean Political Science Association) from the Graduate School of International Studies of Yonsei University discussed ways to establish a new order in the digital era.

The last session, titled “Labor, Education, and Technology Norms,” included presentations and discussions of “Technological norms and policy directions for the new digital order,” “Changes in labor and higher education in the digital transformation” and “Methods of enhancing fairness and trust in the digital-based policy process.”

The first presentation was given by Professor Hoon KIM from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Incheon National University, who analyzed technical norm issues, including threats and response technologies in the accelerated process of digital transformation in the major fields of the digital transformation era, such as AI, data, metaverse, and autonomous driving. He presented the technological policy direction necessary for Korea to be able to respond flexibly to the technological norms issues of digital transformation and to consolidate its status as a leading country in the field of technological norms.

Assistant Professor Ran-woo KIM of KAIST’s Department of Digital Humanities and Social Sciences discussed the impact of social changes on the labor market and the policy responses of countries worldwide in the context of digital transformation. Moreover, the presentation discussed the implications for Korea's university education policy based on an analysis of the level of perceived digital transformation represented by generative AI in Korea's workplace, the extent of workers' response, and the response of American higher education, which was a leader in responding to digital transformation.

Third, Professor Wook-jun SEONG from the Graduate School of IT Policy at Seoul National University of Science and Technology predicted the use of new digital technologies and the resulting changes in the policy-making process following the widespread public introduction of new digital technologies, and suggested ways to improve the fairness and reliability of government policies. To this end, he derived the direction for changes in the public and administrative areas following the recent introduction of new digital technologies and the major issues raised by the integration and use of new digital technologies in the policy-making process.

The general discussion of the fourth session was moderated by Professor Ji-Woong YOON (the next president of the Korean Association for Public Studies) from the Department of Public Administration of Kyung Hee University, with the participation of Professor In-Cheol HWANG (Vice President of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers) from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of Kangwon National University, Professor Dong-Hoon SEOL (President of the Korean Sociological Association) from the Department of Sociology of Jeonbuk National University, and Professor Hyun-hee PARK (Chairman of the General Affairs Committee of the Korean Association for Public Studies) from the Department of Public Administration of Kookmin University.

This conference highlighted the importance of establishing a new digital order to ensure Korea’s successful transformation to a common and prosperous digital society and provided the basic environment for protecting the basic rights of the people. It also served as a venue for presenting the insights and analyses of academic and research communities on the policy tasks needed in each field, such as technology, economy, public, and social systems. In addition, it is expected to lead to the fourth year of research on the digital transformation megatrend in 2024.