[SDF2024] Research Findings 1-3 - Strategies for Flourishing in a Shrinking Society: Conditions for Ensuring Attractiveness as a Country 2024.11.12 All Videos
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The results of the U.S. presidential elections are expected to once again reshape the global order. The conflicts in the Middle East and the South China Sea show no signs of letting up, and the rivalry between the United States and China for technological dominance and economic security continues. For a trading power like Korea, such instability in global affairs exacts a heavy toll, both politically and economically. This is why a proactive response strategy is needed that can further Korea’s national interests as well as global economic prosperity. The primary condition for sustainable economic prosperity is technological capabilities, as well as the human talent who possess and can exercise such capabilities. Yet for Korea, the reality is that the total population has been on a downward trajectory since 2015, with the very industrial infrastructure of the country’s second-largest city Busan at risk of collapsing due to an emptying out of the city’s young population. In order to transition to cutting-edge strategic industries such as AI and secondary batteries, measures to allow for inflow of foreigners, including through immigration, can no longer be deferred. If we are to ensure a prosperous future for our increasingly shrinking society, we must begin the work of uncovering the conditions that make a country attractive.