[Editorial] The Seven Major SEEDs: Building a System That Endures Beyond Administrations Is Key

The government has designated small modular reactors (SMRs), nuclear fusion, and quantum technology as part of the "seven major SEEDs," aiming to nurture them as next-generation growth engines. The plan to reduce the nation’s dependence on semiconductors and prepare new growth drivers for the next 10 to 20 years is sound. It is also commendable that the government has presented specific timelines for development and commercialization in each field.

However, simply selecting the seeds does not mean the industries will automatically flourish. While it may be appropriate to keep support options broad in the initial stages, as results and market potential become clearer, resources should be more focused on promising areas. Since the government has announced its intention to continuously identify new candidates, caution is needed to avoid indiscriminately expanding the scope of support and unnecessarily dispersing the budget.

More important is ensuring continuity beyond a single administration's term. The main objectives for the seven SEEDs stretch across the 2030s and 2040s, meaning they cannot be fully realized by just one government. In addition, many areas such as SMRs, quantum technology, and advanced biotechnology are already included in existing national strategic technology frameworks. Rather than creating new names and organizations with every change in administration, it is also crucial to maintain support for areas where results have already been somewhat validated. There should be systemic foundations that shield these investments from yearly budget changes or shifting policy priorities of the administration. The United States, for instance, secured multi-year funding for fiscal years 2023 to 2027 through the CHIPS Act, which is worth referencing.

The number of world-class researchers attracted will also determine success. Efforts must be made to create conditions that allow domestic talent to focus on research, as well as to reform compensation and recruitment systems to draw outstanding overseas researchers. Since a task force led by the Deputy Prime Minister will be established to oversee the projects, responsibility must also be assigned for all processes—from regulatory reforms in research to private investment and commercialization—until the end.

Investing the fruits of a thriving industry into the seeds of the next is a sound concept. Now, what matters is not just making declarations, but selecting the most promising areas for intensive focus and establishing mechanisms to continue investment even as administrations change. A system capable of nurturing these seeds for more than a decade should be put in place, rather than relying solely on the government that sows them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.