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President of the NAFI, Park Jin gave a video presentation on Global Future Studies Association

Date : 2018-07-27 Writer : NAFI

President of the NAFI, Park Jin gave a video presentation 

on Global Future Studies Association

- Introduced the NAFI at the International Conference hosted by the IAF(Institute for Alternative Futures -


The president of the National Assembly Futures Institute Park Jin will give a presentation on the NAFI at the International Conference on ‘Foresight in Government’ hosted by the Institute of Alternative Futures (IAF) in Crystal City, Virginia (near Washington DC) on July 27(Fri.), 2018. The Alternative Future Institute (IAF), founded in 1977 by Alvin Toffler, James Dator, and Clement Bezold (current president of the IAF), is an institute for future research and provides policy advice to US government and congressional decision makers through future research. More than 100 figures from governments, assembly, and public research institutes in North America, Asia, and Europe etc. are invited to this international conference. The president of the NAFI Park Jin was also invited to this conference.  However, instead of attending in person, he will introduce and make a video presentation on the NAFI at the session. Main contents of presentation are as follows.

(1) What is the difference between the National Assembly Futures Institute and the existing national research institutes?

Persistence is very important in the nature of future research. It is like a growing potted plants; you should give your cares and fertilize to boost growth. Future research should continuously predict the future in a rapidly changing world, and the results should continue to help establish the current strategy. However, future research conducted by existing national research institutes is discontinued once every five years in line with a regime cycle. There is no progress in future research without care.

In addition, since the future is determined by a wide variety of factors, the future research should be convergent. However, Korea's national research institutes are specialized in each professional field.  Even though the Korea Development Institute (KDI) is a comprehensive research institute, it is focused on economics. There is no institution that can grasp the impact of the future biotechnology on pension finance and the impact of global warming on strategy toward North Korea. There are currently no institutions dedicated to future research or convergence research institutions in Korea. We need a place with both of these features. Hence, the National Assembly Future Research Institute was established to breathe life into future research and conduct convergence research.

(2) Why should the future research institute be established in the National Assembly, not in the executive?

This is because the President represents a particular faction. Therefore, limits of neutrality for research are inevitable in research institutes under the administration. The future strategy has no meaning as a strategy if it fluctuates according to the preference of the ruling government. Even if the research content is neutral, it is difficult to form a public consensus unless the subject and procedure of the research are bipartisan. Without public sympathy, it is not possible to succeed in establishing and executing future strategies, which are the ultimate goal of future research. The NAFI is supposed to form a board of directors recommended by the same number of political  parties. Currently, all board members are social celebrities including Kim Sun-Wook (former president of Ewha Womens University) and are independent of any political parties. In addition, major research topics and results needs to be reported to the Steering Committee. In this regard, political neutrality is vital to the National Assembly Futures Institute. Neutrality does not mean that you always take an intermediate position. But it means that the research is conducted only on the basis of the truth and national interests.

Research conducted by the NAFI should win the trust of the National Assembly and the people. Only when the research results gain the public sympathy, we can move in that direction. In this regard, the process is as much important as the outcome of future research. Since the National Assembly is a place where opinions are gathered and consensus is formed, it is a suitable place to conduct a practical research. And since future strategies often involve changing roles between administrative ministries, it is better to have a research institute within the legislature that monitors and serves as the watchdog over the executive branches. The executive has acquired powerful vested interests by going through the development period. There are some ministries that should reduce their roles while there are other ministries that should strengthen their role. However, it is difficult for research institutes under the administration to come up with the corresponding plan. The administration has central management organizations such as the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety etc., however, it is difficult to coordinate the interests among large ministries that correspond to the national strategy. The work should be done by the National Assembly, and the NAFI will provide the theoretical background. Furthermore, the NAFI should give a bitter pill to the National Assembly. Only then the NAFI can gain the trust of the people, its ultimate client.  (End)


【Reference】 Photo of giving a presentation


enquiry : head of research support office at the NAFI,

Kim Byeong-Soo (02-788-3925, deeple@nafi.re.kr)