[Editorial] Epoch-making Vision Needed For Science and Engineering Prosperity

If it had not been for Samsung Electronics, which has grasped a top spot among global leading companies, could the amount of national wealth have reached its current state? Without securing cutting-edge technologies such as the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and semiconductors, would our people have anything to get along with right now?

The reasons our country has succeeded in possessing global leading products and technologies can be decisively attributed to the devotions of many talents in the natural science and engineering fields 20 to 30 years before. It definitely establishes the natural principle that sowing a seed can bring out blossoms.

The serious problem of our country is that not many seeds are being sown in the natural science and engineering fields; at least not enough to allow us to cherish a hope for the future. Though the amount is quantitatively not lacking, the exodus of talent in science and engineering fields is largely in progress, and many high school graduates prefer business and commercial majors rather than devoting their lives to the science and engineering fields. Despite the fact that many technology conglomerates are eager to attract foreign talents, these movements are directly proving that the conditions of rearing talent in science and engineering fields in our country faces a serious crisis.

Defeated in science and technology competitions against the other advanced countries, our future is not so promising. Not dealing with the “establishment of a state on the basis of science and engineering” as a titular statement, the government should exalt it up to one of the core agendas of the country in order to solve the problem as soon as possible. The current administrational problems, which center only on political spheres, should be solved in order to focus on the economy, and science and engineering.

In particular, the stream of consciousness that treats the engineers and scientists cordially should become prevalent in society as a whole. The increases in scholarship beneficiaries and experimental expenditures cannot keep up with these necessities. In order to increase the occupational stabilities of scientists and engineers, the most effective policy is pressing. Additionally, in the field of science and engineering, the bureaucratic idea, which considers formalities first, should vanish immediately, and a foundation that allows laboratory workers to carry out their work in a dignified manner should be laid. The proclamation of the government, “Science Korea,” which was uttered in the heyday of science, should today be implemented more systemically and effectively, in my viewpoint.