Kim Yong-beom, the Blue House Policy Chief, resumed his Facebook activity after a 17-day hiatus. His return to social media comes after opposition calls for his resignation following the controversy surrounding a leveraged exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on a single stock. Kim has now shifted the conversation back to fostering future growth engines.
On the night of August 12, Kim posted on Facebook under the title '3 Mega and 7 SEED,' stating, "The capital from industries making money today must flow into industries that will generate profits tomorrow." This marks his first post since July 26.
Speculation suggests that Kim's pause in social media engagement was influenced by the backlash over the leveraged ETF, which the opposition claims he was involved in introducing. However, he did not address the ETF controversy in his recent post.
In his message, Kim outlined a growth strategy that involves reinvesting the technology and capital accumulated in current key industries, such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI), into next-generation sectors. He emphasized, "Mega nurtures SEED, and SEED grows into new Mega," highlighting the importance of this cycle.
The three major mega projects refer to semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers. The seven SEED initiatives include: small modular reactors (SMR), nuclear fusion, renewable energy, quantum technology, aerospace, advanced biotechnology, and advanced materials and components supply chains.
Kim assessed that current semiconductor competitiveness does not automatically guarantee future industrial dominance. He noted, "The history of technology has shown us that today's success does not ensure tomorrow's advantage," stressing that semiconductors are one of South Korea's most critical industrial assets, prompting the need to consider future directions.
He added, "A seed is not a large tree from the start," urging the need to identify which industries among the small seeds will grow to sustain South Korea in 10 or 20 years and to prepare the soil for early rooting.
Kim believes that the three mega projects and seven SEED initiatives should be designed as a single industrial ecosystem. He explained that as AI data centers and semiconductor production facilities increase, so will power demand, and securing stable energy will enable the attraction of additional semiconductor factories and data centers.
He also proposed leveraging the computational and precision manufacturing technologies gained in the AI and semiconductor sectors for research and development in quantum technology, advanced biotechnology, and aerospace industries. He emphasized the need for a structure that connects the capital of large corporations, the expertise of researchers, and the innovation of startups.
Kim concluded, "We cannot simply repeat past success, but we can recreate a structure where the success of one industry leads to the birth of the next. When one or two of the seven seeds planted today grow into new Mega, South Korea's next growth will begin."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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