“Free Economic Zone Connects People and Technology”
- DGFEZ holds <2019 DGFEZ Global Forum> -
-(Speakers) Denis Hong(robot engineer), Simon Bureau(global entrepreneur), Ji-Pyeong Lee(Japan expert) and others
-(Topics) Future industries (robot and AI), response measures to globalization, and searching for a solution to the economic friction between Korea and Japan
-(➀Denis Hong) “Overcoming the limitations of humanoid robots through robots that do not resemble humans”
-(➁Simon Bureau) “Urgent need for global mindset to get used to the discomfort of globalization”
-(③Ji-Pyeong Lee) “Continuous competitiveness comes not from The Best, but from The Only”
-(④In-Seon Lee) “The success of the free economic zone is determined by communication and cooperation with resident companies.”
○ Daegu Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Authority (hereinafter “DGFEZ”, In-Seon Lee, Commissioner) holds <2019 DGFEZ Global Forum> on the 11th at Hotel Inter-Burgo by inviting 110 resident companies together with 50 organizations in industries, academic circles, and research community including local chamber of commerce, universities, research institutes, and support agencies. Young-Jin Kwon, mayor of Daegu and Cheol-Woo, governor of Gyeonbguk will also participate in this year’s forum held second time to establish the DGFEZ as a test bed for innovative growth that connects people and technology.
○ The topic of the forum is “hyper-connected innovative growth, connecting people and technology’ to improve the management environment and settlement conditions of foreign investment companies. It will be launched as a “networking space for global investment promotion” that shares the goal awareness for hyper-connected innovative growth. This forum is also an opportunity for the DGFEZ to contemplate the achievement of the DGFEZ that received the best S grade among the seven nationwide free economic zones for the first time since the opening of the DGFEZ in this year’s assessment of achievement by the central government.
○ The DGFEZ will reflect the policy suggestions made in this forum in the establishment of policies in the future and review the achievements over the last 11 years again from the beginning and use the results in the establishment of operation directions and practice road maps.
○ The main details of the keynote address and presentations by Denis Hong, professor (UCLA), Simon Bureau CEO (Vectis Corporation), Dr. Ji-Pyeong Lee (LG Economic Research Institute), and Commissioner In-Seon Lee are as follows.
○ In his keynote speech, Professor Denis Hong, a robot engineer said “Humanoid robots (AI robots with a human appearance) in Hollywood movies have many difficulties in practical use.” He asks “Why would humanoid robots need to appear human when they have poor practicality?” Professor Hong presents the tasks and alternatives for future robot industry. “To overcome the limitations of current humanoid robots (slow, falls down, expensive, complex, and even dangerous), we should remove stumbling blocks one by one, such as speed, stability, price, and safety, through awkward machine-looking robots that do not resemble humans for the time being.”
○ As the first topic presenter, Simon Bureau, CEO of Vectis Corporation suggests ways to respond to globalization, saying “The discomfort that Korea experiences due to globalization has three levels: individual, company, and nation. Instead of avoiding the new, strange changes called globalization, we should think differently from the past and practice differently from the past.” Mr. Bureau asks for the determination and passion for globalization of people in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, saying “The Daegu and Gyeongbuk community should have a global mindset to get used to globalization in order to sucdeed in attracting global investments.”
○ Regarding recent responses to the recent retreat of globalization and the recent economic friction between Korea and Japan, second topic presenter, Dr. Ji-Pyeong Lee predicts, “Although globalization is retreating in many countries around the world including the US, Japan, and Europe, the situation will not deteriorate until the globalization is stranded.” Dr. Lee also diagnoses, “The friction between the US and China is essentially a competition over hegemony. The two countries are not only difficult to compromise, but conflict and confrontation will continue for some time because they are determined to win or lose. ”
○ Dr. Lee also predicts, “The instability due to the economic friction between Korea and Japan will continue for some time because there are hidden issues such as Japanese right-wing, Korean democratization, differences in history perception between Korea and Japan, and vigilance on the Japanese part regarding the contact of two Koreas.” He advises that “to achieve sustainable growth, companies should achieve the position of The Only One, rather than The Best One, in the global market through enhancement of investment in base technologies, responding to changes in the trade environment, continuous discovery of new businesses, security of independent technologies, and social contribution.”
○ As last topic presenter, Commissioner In-Seon Lee sent a message of hope, saying “This forum will be a cornerstone for construction of a global innovative growth platform for the resident companies and support organizations to communicate (contact) and cooperate (interconnect) with each other.”. She also expressed her ambition, “The DGFEZ will accelerate investment attraction and corporate support by accurately identifying the needs of the resident companies. Furthermore, we will create good jobs to be established as a core agency that gives hope to 5.2 million citizens and residents.” (The End)
