Choi Hwi-young, the Minister of Culture candidate, is the right person to take charge of K-Culture.

Choi Hwi-young, the Minister of Culture candidate and K-Culture

The nomination of Choi Hwi-young as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism has garnered attention from many. Under the Lee Jae-myung administration, Choi is considered an ideal candidate to take charge of K-culture based on his experience as a private manager. He is a platform-based private manager, which allows us to discern the government's intention to integrate culture, technology, and industry beyond mere individual achievements. Through Choi's nomination, we can glimpse the future direction of the Ministry of Culture and how cultural policies may evolve. He is viewed as part of an effort to restructure existing cultural policy operations, demonstrating the potential for private sector experience to be integrated into government policy.

Choi Hwi-young's Career Overview

Choi Hwi-young was born in Busan in 1964. He graduated from the English Language and Literature Department at Sogang University and began his career in journalism. After working as a reporter for Yonhap News Agency and YTN, he transitioned to the IT industry, serving as a planner and CEO at various companies. In particular, his experience at Naver significantly contributed to designing the foundation for search and content distribution. Later, he founded a travel content platform called Triple and is co-leading Nolyuniverse through a merger with Interpark Triple. This background is highly significant in that it highlights him as a manager who focuses on platform-based content distribution and user experience.

The role and characteristics of the play universe

Nol Universe is a comprehensive platform related to leisure, culture, and tourism created by the integration of Yanolja and Interpark Triple. This platform connects various cultural content such as performances, flights, and accommodations in a personalized manner for users. Nol Universe is characterized by its integration of fragmented services and its provision of personalized experiences based on data. Additionally, the packaging of Korean cultural content targeted at overseas tourists is linked to the Ministry of Culture's tourism policy. Such platforms can suggest a new direction for cultural consumption through an efficient approach from the private sector, different from the public sector.

Changes in Ministry of Culture Policy

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has a long tradition of simultaneously implementing cultural and tourism policies. In recent years, important tasks such as the expansion of K-Culture and digital transformation have been set, and policies are evolving towards private technology and platform-centered approaches. The participation of private platform operators in policy-making can lead to the convergence of technology and content, enabling the establishment of more effective policies through the utilization of real user data. Candidate Choi Hwi-yong's management experience is expected to make a significant contribution in this direction. In particular, the use of platforms can help enhance the flexibility and agility of cultural policies.

The policy stance of the Lee Jae-myung government

The Lee Jae-myung government emphasizes a non-bureaucratic personnel policy and practicality, and many of the ministerial candidates from key departments are often from the private sector. The nomination of the Minister of Culture also fits into this trend. The government has set a goal of achieving economic growth centered around K-culture, and candidate Choi Hwiyoung is assessed as an individual with rich execution experience. The convergence of content and technology can open up various possibilities for future policies, and it is important for private sector capabilities to be directly reflected in policy establishment. This change requires a departure from the existing paradigm, and the importance of the platform economy is being emphasized.

Transition of administrative experience and execution methods

There are criticisms regarding the lack of public office experience of candidate Choi Hui-young, but this signifies a shift in execution methods beyond the framework of administrative functions. The cultural sector is facing a rapidly changing environment, requiring flexible planning capabilities rather than fixed legislation. Candidate Choi has accumulated extensive experience managing large-scale projects in the private sector, which can help complement the rigidity of existing public systems. Moreover, at a time when cultural policy needs to focus on enhancing access and competitiveness for all citizens, experience with digital technology and platforms is essential. This will be a critical point for designing new policies.

"Organization and Future Outlook

The nomination of candidate Choi Hee-young indicates that the restructuring of cultural policy and the importance of private sector participation will become crucial. He is an individual capable of leading innovative changes in policy design through the interpretation of data based on platform technology and user experience. The process of reflecting the perspectives of private experts in policy design will be an opportunity for cultural policy to further develop. In the future, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will be required to move beyond the simple role of a policy conveyor and take a lead as a policy designer and platform coordinator. Candidate Choi Hee-young is expected to play a significant role in this trend, which aligns with the personnel philosophy of the Lee Jae-myung administration.