Voices grow louder over revival of Info-Comm. Ministry

Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, spoke of "four lost years" in the IT industry Thursday.

In a speech to the party`s forum on IT policymaking, he said the global competitiveness of Korea`s IT industry plunged from third in 2007 to 16th in 2009 due to the Lee Myung-bak administration`s indifference to the sector.

The party also called the administration`s IT policy a failure, urging the establishment of a ministry in charge of information and media, which would virtually revive the now-defunct Information and Communication Ministry.

Fears over an IT crisis sparked by Google`s acquisition of Motorola have fueled calls for the revival of the Information Ministry. Some blame as a key cause of the crisis the Lee administration`s dismantling of the ministry, which served as the control tower for the government`s IT policy.

The ministry`s hardware and software policy making functions were transferred to the Knowledge Economy Ministry. The Korea Communications Commission took over the network service and telecommunications functions, while the Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry absorbed content industry promotion responsibilities.

Many IT industry experts, however, say the absence of an IT control tower is not the nature of the crisis.

"The real nature of the crisis is the idea that the government wants to lead the industry despite its failure to understand the software industry," said Choi Yoon-seok, managing director of Oracle Korea.

○ Calls to revive Information and Communication Ministry

This is not the first time that calls have appeared for the revival of the Information Ministry, which was dismantled in 2008. In April last year, the Democratic Party raised the issue as part of its pledges for the local elections, saying the abolition of the ministry alienated researchers in the field.

The calls died down as then Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Kyung-hwan and Korea Communications Commission Chairman Choi See-joong protested the proposal. Yet the calls have gained strength again amid mounting fears over the nation`s IT industry following Google`s takeover of Motorola.

The Knowledge Economy Ministry, which is in charge of promoting the software industry, has denied certain politicians` arguments that the domestic IT industry has regressed in recent years. Rejecting the opposition party`s argument that Korea ranked 16th in the Economist Intelligence Unit`s digital economy rankings last year, the ministry said Korea`s rank was really 10th, up three notches from 2007.

The ministry also said the share of Korean-made smartphones in the global market was a world-leading 23.1 percent in the second quarter this year, up from 4.2 percent in 2009.

○ Government`s lack of software understanding

IT industry experts are cynical about the debates between politicians and the government.

"People in the industry are discontented over the government`s policy not because of the absence of the Information and Communication Ministry but because they cannot trust the government`s policy," one industry source said.

Others say the government`s project to make robot fish for detecting water pollution and another to develop a mobile operating system with big business are "unrealistic."

mint4a@donga.com