IP & Art

The recent presidential election campaign is hot. All of us are so confused by all kinds of political engineering, such as the allegations of corruption  and subsequent rebuttal by asserting political maneuvering. All of parties are just emphasizing both justice and principle. But their allegation is not touching very much. In reality, they  appears to stick to their own interests and related logic. Don't they even care for the sovereignty of Korea? And the future is... .

How could we view the current situation? Is confusion and corruption being suddenly on the rise? Not like that. No, I don't want to believe that. In the past, there must have been more corruption (suspicion) than now. It just was not open. Now, in the digital age, such undisclosed and blind spots are no longer protected. The hidden truth is now being open to the public. In the past, privileges and vested interests are well protected and took a control over everything. And there were blind spots over which the law would not reach. They were put into a secret.

Now the world has changed. Everything is disclosed. It was such an era. The current chaos is a natural byproduct derived from the characteristics of the digital era. Problems that are disclosed up only need to be resolved. Yes. Whether intentionally or not, the dark reality that has been left away is only being open. From now on, what we can do will be not to repeat the mistakes of the past. The problems that are open are so easy to be fixed. It tends to be darkest just before sunrise. All the confusion and darkness will soon disappear. So the future will definitely bright. Isn't the current chaos and darkness a harbinger of a brilliant new era?

Now it's a time to sort out the dark past. Let's break free from old bad customs and stereotypes. Korea is no longer a developing country. There is only one leap from a developed country to the best one in the world.  Take more positive position to look into the current darkness. A more active attitude will be demanded. Only the world's most advanced and exemplary country is the way for us to go. The paradigm is also changing. Blockchain provides its direction. It should be decentralized, not centralized. No an elite cartel. Maintaining a monopoly or vested interests will be an anachronism. No more selective inequity. There is an urgent need to restore the rights and original status of the sovereignty. The agent's loss of self-identity is more serious than expected. Abnormalities which have been prevailed in our society must be corrected. The chronic contradiction between slogan and actual implementation is a problem. Matching words and actions is the only answer. Now, only strong pride as a world advanced model country shall shine.

So what to do now? First, the advancement of political culture is urgent. It is necessary to seriously reconsider on the old bad practices shown in this presidential election. Not only politicians, but also the people need to be alert. It is difficult to leave politics to the politicians only. It is important for the people to exercise their authority as sovereign. Only continuous attention and proper exercise of sovereignty's power will be the only way for the right direction. A dignified culture of integrity must be established throughout society. We need to start with the strict enforcement of the Anti-Corruption Act. Creating a foundation for a dignified culture of integrity is essential. Furthermore, it will be the cornerstone of the leap forward the world's most advanced country.

Media reform is also needed. We need to start by restoring the true identity of the media. The wrong self-identity of some media, which seems to put its own interests first, should be avoided. It is necessary to be faithful to the protection of the people's sovereignty, basic rights under the Constitution, and fairness. It is important to return to the original position as the people's truly living eyes. Legal reform is also urgent. The last bulwark of a democratic society is none other than the judicial process. The exercise of judicial power should be changed to be more friendly and oriented to the sovereign judicial consumer. Judicial convenient behavior must be completely reformed. First, we need more judges in terms of its number. It is important to allocate the appropriate judicial personnel in view of the excessive number of cases. This is directly related to the implementation of the constitutional rights, which is the right to get a due trial under the Constitution law. Further,  judicial practices which appears to be judicial convenience - oriented rather than judicial consumer- oriented, such as writing judgments, must also be corrected.

Above all, full disclosure of the judgment is urgently necessary. The practice of writing criminal judgments should also be reformed. The 

" not guilty" judgment should be concise, but the sentence of conviction should be more detailed with full description of evidences along with clear reasonings. This is because it is directly related to the guarantee of the right to defense under the Constitution Law. The erroneous judicial convenience - oriented practices that has allowed the guilty verdict to be presented only with a brief summary of evidence deserves criticism. The discussion of unconstitutionality in the judicial process now needs a fair review. The permission of the adjudication of trial by the constitutional court is a prime example. The German laws and practices that guarantee this strict scrutiny  process is a point for us to pay a special attention to. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to amend the relevant laws.

Self-reflection by administrative officials, who are public servants and agents of the sovereign, will be strongly demanded. Above all, it is urgent to establish their's own identities. Administrative convenience must be eliminated. They are not in a position to reign, but to serve for the interests of their sovereign. In addition, the direction toward small government and e-government is the irresistible main stream. It is necessary to reform the system, such as expanding the people's summons to the agent of the sovereign such as administrative officials. Reforms on pending issues such as civil servant pension reform are also urgently needed. Only rational alternatives, such as integration with the National Pension Service, are the only way to be pursued.

The normalization of the National Assembly is also a challenge.  There is an urgent need for radical innovation in the legislative process, which is its original role. Professionalism must be improved. As alternative option, it is a time to seriously consider change of the status of member of the National Assembly as honorary positions. As in northern Europe, a shift to unpaid voluntary volunteer work may be an exemplary model. In addition, there is an urgent need to reorganize the role and function of legislation. Beyond just regulation, economic activity support function! In particular, get stared with focusing on promoting investment activities through tax laws, etc.

Now, the national future policy direction is also toward a choice and concentration. It is summarized as digital innovation, globalization, and intellectual property development, etc. The digitization of offline business is an urgent task. For this purpose, not only budget support but also underlying legal system support is absolutely required. Radical reforms in relevant laws and systems for globalization and policy support should be supported. Intellectual property is the most important asset of the future. Therefore, it is urgent to foster intellectual property and vitalize intellectual property finance.  Get started with the reorganization of the control tower, the nurturing of an intellectual property management company, and the reconstruction of the intellectual property exchange which deals with the trading the intellectual properties rights, etc.

From now on, the agent of the sovereign should be actively monitored, controlled and reprimanded. Otherwise, our future will be driven into an abnormal situation where the the dignity of sovereignty will not be recognized and fully respected. Now, the due exercise of the sovereignty is highly demanded. It is a right time for us, as an owner of sovereignty to remind our agents of their identities. Just take a big first step again towards the miracle of the 'second Han River' in the era of the 4th industrial revolution.