Jung Yong-bin, the management chief of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), took office as the 15th president of the Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP) in an inaugural ceremony at the Korea Design Center in Bundang, south of Seoul on June 1. 

The new KIDP president said in a speech, “Design is a sure catalyst code that can combine affective science industry and technology, serving as an indispensable factor that drives corporate and national competitive edge. I’ll do my best to reestablish design as an creative industry or advanced industry as  design management strategies.” 

Jung was promoted as the youngest executive of Samsung Electronics at the age of 43. The former head of Samsung Electronics’ Product Planning Center, was charged with overseeing “design management,” which Samsung Electronics declared in 1996. Jung had been credited with establishing and executing a plan to flesh out a so-called design revolution of the Korean electronics leader. The new KIDP president was in the field of managing venture companies and SMEs for eight years. 

He served as the first, second and third president of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Design Center, promoting the development of the design industry of the region and regional development. During his term, Jung was praised for attracting Material ConneXion, a leading U.S.-based design material consulting service provider, to Daegu. 

Following is a summary of his inaugural speech:

The important thing to understand is that conventional, industrial, economic and social systems are undergoing changes at a tremendous pace, and many futurists focus on a world in which design will play unlimited roles. As you know, the sophistication of IT and Internet network have changed our daily lives. The 3D printing technology, which is breaking down the conventional factory production system, is ushering in an era of individualized manufacturing, forecast to bring about greater changes than of the Internet. In this trend of change, design serves as a catalyst to expand and drive the future of our industry. As a result, each country’s design capability will become a strong weapon to determine the nation’s national and corporate ranking.

I will endeavor to solidify design’s position as a core part of the creative industry, knowledge industry and quality industry while making KIDP a design service provider with a global competitive edge through so-called quiet innovation.

First, I will set KIDP’s vision as a business platform combining design and industry that can usher in an era of the creative economy. I and my staff will devote ourselves to becoming a business platform combining design and industry that can boost convergence with other industries and fields, and create new markets, industries and jobs. 

Second, I will focus more on the so-called Design of Future Project to reflect changes of the future industry environment. Design will have to spearhead convergence between the daily changing ICT technology environment and daily life industry. In this regard, we plan to build a network-type platform that can upgrade the ecosystem of the Korean design industry. It will be complemented with specific, integrated projects surrounding diverse design industries, including design-technology convergence, design education tailored to meet the needs of the design field, and the expansion of service designs and new market exploration. We need to establish the 3D Printer Designer Center to prepare to boost personalized manufacturing and individually specific manufacturing era. In an effort to further evolve K-Design into a global brand, it is a prerequisite to aggressively cope with future changes based on our own identity. 

Third, KIDP will refurbish and establish an integrated design governance management system through communication and cooperation with design promotion institutions of local governments, including each district’s design center. KIDP is a core institution spearheading Korea’s design policies and design services, so consultation meetings among design promotion institutions will be held on a regular basis to forge cooperative and organic ties to develop projects to promote integration on state and regional stages. It is also important for us to protect the rights of the design community and promote the co-prosperity environment. We’ll lead the prevention of design copycats, build a fair design trade environment, and a system for shared growth among large- and small-sized companies.