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The New Growth Engines Initiative reported their plan to the president of Korea, Lee Myung-bak on Sept. 22.

the initiative has selected 22 projects in six areas - energy and environment, transportation systems, new information technology, new integrated industries, bio-industry and knowledge-based services.

However, the growth of the Korean economy has been relatively slow during the last decade because it is facing strong international challenges. Industry leaders are struggling to develop the new "Blue Ocean" in the years to come. Unemployment among the younger generation is serious, and the proportion of retirees has become bigger. Another challenge is the global warming and energy shortage problem.

Long-term investment for economic growth Long-term investment is necessary after the government lays the foundation for fiscal efficiency through welfare reform. We should not focus on short-term and stopgap financial steps for the vision -- instead we have to make long-term investments to realize it. For the sake of concurrent economic growth and welfare enhancement, Vision 2030 Korea calls for a long-term investment to expand the nation's growth momentum and raise people's quality of life. First of all, to expand growth momentum, more investment will be made in research and development, next-generation growth-engine projects, higher education and lifelong learning, and social service jobs. Then, investment in the welfare sector will be expanded to enhance the quality of life by meeting people's basic needs and narrowing the gap between the rich and poor. To that end, the government will introduce an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) system and Elderly Care Insurance and Housing Vouchers, while increasing investment in child-care services and after-school activities, health insurance and livelihood support for the poor. In addition, investment will be expanded on social infrastructure projects, military reform, efforts for national unification and active participation in the international community.

the government announced its "Green New Deal" project on Jan. 6.

The "Green New Deal" is an ambitious project designed to create 960,000 jobs by investing 50 trillion won ($36.4 billion) over the next four years

The Korean government has taken the position that this crisis is an opportunity to advance eco-friendly economics; by pumping investment into "green technologies," we will be both helping the economy and setting the stage for future economic growth.

Many of the changes have gone deep. After the crisis, foreign investors were welcomed, and now around half of the shares of Samsung Electronics and LGE are foreign-owned.

In practice the new rules were hardly draconian.

Moreover, no South Korean government appears able to resist the temptation to use the chaebol for policy ends.