Ha Jun-kyung Highlights Shift to Innovation-Led Growth Strategy

Ha Jun-kyung, presidential senior secretary for economic growth, delivered a policy lecture on “Creative Destruction and Korea’s Innovative Economy” at the 2026 Dong-A International Finance Forum on May 14. He said Korea’s economic growth path has moved from quantitative input-centered expansion to an innovation-led growth strategy. Ha is a former student of Peter Howitt, professor emeritus at Brown University, who gave the keynote speech at the forum and supervised Ha’s doctoral dissertation at Brown in 2003. Citing Howitt’s endogenous growth theory, Ha said government policy can influence economic growth rates. He explained that growth depends on innovation, and innovation depends on choices by economic actors, such as whether available funds are used for R&D or lobbying politicians. His point was that government incentives for R&D and limits on entry barriers can help new industries emerge. Source: rss.donga.com