At one time, the late president Roh Moo-hyun called himself a Venture President, a self-given nickname to emphasize his deep interest in the IT venture industry. At some lectures he gave, he used to reiterate the importance of venture firms and software technologies.
He went so far as to tell venture firms to supply their products to Cheong Wa Dae to maintain its systems. In efforts to find new growth engines for the country, he set forth the so-called IT839 strategy. IT839 means 8 new IT services which will be deployed within the next three to four years so that service operators invest in 3 new wireless broadband and secure communication infrastructures to offer high-quality ubiquitous services. Also, 9 hardware and software component industries were defined as growth engines.
The late president Roh, who made many efforts to promote Korea’s software industry, died suddenly on May 23. The funeral service was held in Seoul on May 29. Many Koreans will remember him as a president who tried to promote their country’s IT industry.
