S. Korea to make big investment on future growth industries

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korean government said Monday that the government and the private sector plan to invest 4 trillion won (87.5 billion U.S. dollars) in future growth engine industries over the next five years.

"If the plan is successful, a total of 880,000 new jobs could be created by 2013," Lee Dong-geun, head of the growth engine development office at the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy said.

He also added that South Korean exports could reach 306.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2013 from 120.8 billion U.S. dollars expected for this year, further bolstering economic growth.

The government is to cover 7.9 trillion won of the total investment, while 91.5 trillion won will come from the business community.

According to the blueprint, envisioned by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, six key industries and 22 separate projects have been selected that can best help fuel the national economy.

The six chosen industries are energy-environment, transportation, advanced information technology, industrial conversion, biotech and knowledge services which are expected to have high possibility of success, and far reaching impact, said the ministry.

The ministry also said that among 22 separate projects development of media convergence, cultural contents, product design, software, next generation semiconductors, information technology and marine industries are the ones to be completed within five years.

The projects which have 10 years span for development include advanced mobile communications, fuel cells, light emitting diodes, solar cells , nuclear reactors, displays and healthcare technology are to be extensively developed, the ministry added.