Rethinking a science and technology-oriented society

 
Oh Se-jung
 
The creator is a professor emeritus of physics and astronomy and a former president of Seoul National University.
 
 
 
The phrase “science and technology-oriented society” first entered Korea’s coverage vocabulary in 2003 with the launch of the Roh Moo-hyun administration. At the time, the federal government introduced the purpose as one among its core nationwide agenda objects. It introduced plans to pursue a “second rise of science and technology,” to reform the nationwide science and expertise system and to develop scientific tradition to construct a society grounded in rules and belief.
 

President Lee Jae Myung presides over a assembly on the launch ceremony of the National AI Strategy Committee, held at Seoul Square in central Seoul on Sept. 8. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

 
The administration elevated the science and expertise minister to deputy prime minister and created a particular advisory publish on data science and expertise within the Blue House. It additionally revised the nationwide analysis and growth funds course of in order that specialists would make key selections. These steps strengthened the voice of scientists and engineers inside authorities and opened extra pathways for individuals with STEM backgrounds to enter public service.
 
But science and expertise didn’t grow to be the true heart of society. Instead, they remained instruments for financial growth. The idea of a “science and technology-oriented society” ended up as an overstated slogan relatively than a transformative purpose.
 
Twenty years later, the Lee Jae Myung administration has adopted a related imaginative and prescient, setting the purpose of changing into one of many world’s prime three AI powers. It has elevated the minister of science and ICT to deputy prime minister and created a senior presidential secretary for AI future planning. Only the terminology has modified — from “science and technology” to “AI” — whereas the coverage course mirrors that of the Roh administration.
 
The query is whether or not AI will once more be handled merely as an instrument of financial growth. Many political leaders and senior officers nonetheless view it that means. But AI differs essentially from previous applied sciences. Earlier advances enhanced human bodily skills. AI dietary supplements or replaces cognitive perform, touching what may be thought-about the essence of humanity. It has the potential to reshape society from the bottom up.
 
 
It has been solely three years since ChatGPT entered the general public sphere, but many components of society have already shifted. Schools are debating whether or not to permit its use. Job markets for legal professionals, accountants and tech employees are being reshaped as AI encroaches on entry-level skilled roles. Warfare is altering, as seen in Ukraine. And geopolitical rivalry, as proven in U.S.-China tensions, has grow to be a contest over technological supremacy. AI, science and expertise now sit on the heart of social and nationwide energy.
 
How ought to Korea reply? It could also be time to revive Roh Moo-hyun’s imaginative and prescient of a science and technology-oriented society. This doesn’t imply a society dominated by scientists or engineers. Instead, it means a society during which rationality and sensible problem-solving — the hallmarks of science — are revered throughout all sectors.
 
Science rejects dogma and prejudice and prizes purpose and options. Galileo Galilei defied the Church by advancing a heliocentric mannequin as a result of it higher defined celestial movement. Albert Einstein overturned the common perception that point flows identically for all individuals as a result of it couldn’t account for the habits of sunshine and fast-moving objects. In science, even broadly accepted truths may be discarded in the event that they hinder higher explanations.
 
Yet Korea nonetheless sees insurance policies distorted by inflexible ideology relatively than practicality. One instance is the political hostility towards nuclear energy, which many environmental students now view as indispensable. Such opposition hampers planning for the power provide that an AI-driven society requires. Another instance is the inflexible 52-hour workweek rule, which prevents sure professions from voluntarily adjusting work hours when wanted.
 

Kim Yong-beom, presidential coverage chief, speaks throughout a briefing on the APEC Media Center in Gyeongju on Oct. 31. From left are Kim Woo-chang, senior presidential secretary for nationwide AI coverage, Kim and Ha Jung-woo, senior presidential secretary for AI future planning. [YONHAP]

 
The world is watching China’s speedy growth with concern. Its progress has benefited from compressing Western historic expertise into accelerated home trial and error, in addition to from constant long-term policymaking by practical-minded bureaucrats. Many of China’s senior officers had been educated in engineering or the sciences, disciplines that emphasize problem-solving.
 
A current ebook by Dan Wang, “Breakneck” (2025), frames U.S.-China competitors as a contest between “a nation of lawyers and a nation of engineers.” Can Korea overcome rule-by-lawyers and outdated ideologies to maneuver towards a extra sensible, rational, science-and-technology-oriented society?
 
The reply won’t come simply. But the world is altering, and public attitudes are shifting. Most of all, Korea dangers falling behind China and dropping floor on the worldwide stage if it doesn’t adapt. That, greater than something, needs to be the motivation.

This article was initially written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the assistance of generative AI instruments. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.