South Korea's government on Wednesday designated seven technology sectors — from small modular reactors and nuclear fusion to quantum computing and space — as national "future growth engines," a plan President Lee Jae Myung's administration says will secure the country's next wave of economic drivers.
Dubbed the "7 SEED Projects" (Strategic Emerging Engines for Disruptive innovation), the initiative follows the "3 Mega Projects" centered on semiconductors and was presented at a reporting session at the presidential office on August 12. The seven sectors are small modular reactors (SMRs), nuclear fusion, next-generation renewable energy, quantum technology, space and aviation, advanced bio, and critical minerals and materials/components/equipment supply chains.
The sectors are organized into three pillars: "Future Clean Energy" (SMRs, fusion, renewables) to meet surging power demand from AI expansion and carbon neutrality; "Next-Generation Frontier" (quantum, space and aviation, advanced bio); and "Advanced Supply Chains" (critical minerals and components).
The plan comes with concrete targets: commercializing light-water SMRs by 2035 and starting construction of non-light-water SMRs in the 2030s; fusion power generation by the late 2030s; a domestically developed 100-qubit-class quantum processing unit by 2029; a private-sector-led lunar lander launch by 2030 and an independent low-orbit satellite communication network by 2035; and commercialization of brain-computer interface technology by 2035.
For capital-intensive efforts such as non-light-water SMRs, fusion reactors and quantum foundries, the government and private sector will set up special purpose companies (SPCs) to co-fund technology development and commercialization. Universities will receive "block funding" for long-term, large-scale research, and a public-private "Future Growth Engine Task Force" led by Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon will oversee sectoral roadmaps and progress.
