President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that boosting productivity through advanced technologies is the most feasible way to achieve sustained economic growth, as his country struggles with widening disparities and entrenched inequality.
Lee, speaking to China Media Group ahead of his first state visit to China since taking office, acknowledged that economic polarization has become the most serious challenge facing society in the ROK. He pointed out that the root cause lies in stagnant growth.
"Among the many challenges our society faces today, the most serious is economic polarization. As disparities widen markedly and inequality becomes deeply entrenched, people face growing hardships, and social conflicts intensify. There are a number of factors behind this trend, but it is fundamentally caused by a lack of opportunities on account of stagnant growth," said Lee.
The president added that restoring hope requires growth that is lasting rather than fleeting and that technology-driven productivity gains are the clearest route forward.
"Therefore, I believe that the most important task in terms of minimizing social conflicts in the country and restoring hope for the people is, ultimately, to achieve economic growth that is not temporary but sustained and evolving. Various factors drive sustained economic development, but at this stage, the most feasible approach is to improve productivity by investing in advanced technologies," Lee continued.
ROK president says tech investment key to sustained growth
The recent 2026 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) Annual Conference in Beijing has impressed international guests with its focus on deeper integration of technological and industrial innovation, highlighting how China's innovative advances are reshaping daily life.
The five-day forum, themed "Full Integration Between Technological and Industrial Innovation," wrapped up in Chinese capital on Sunday after bringing together more than 1,000 participants from over 100 countries and regions around the world.
More than 560 cutting-edge achievements were unveiled at the event, ranging from embodied intelligent robots and brain-computer interfaces to breakthroughs in quantum applications and 6G research and development.
The venue for the forum also showcased a number of these innovative creations to visitors, who were able to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee prepared by a humanoid barista, as well as be throughly entertained by robots performing dances or even playing piano.
Given the presence of these advanced humanoid robots, international participants shared the common view that innovation is no longer confined to laboratories but is now permeating every aspect of daily life.
"The deepest impression is actually to see how much AI is across everywhere," said Anders Karlsson, vice president of Elsevier, a global leader providing advanced information and decision support to accelerate progress in science and healthcare worldwide.
"The Zhongguancun Forum has become a very international window on innovation. We can find out annually how innovation is driving [and a key] component of growth of this wonderful country," said Vincenzo Lipardi, president and co-founder of SPICI, an Italian company assisting businesses and startups with strategic consulting services.
"As a scientist and as a worker of the United Nations system, I'm really pleased to see integration of science, technology and sustainability," said Shahbaz Khan, director of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia.
One of the forum's key themes was around opening up and striving for greater cooperation, which demonstrated to the wider world that China's innovation aims to break down barriers and share opportunities, so as to enable the global community to advance together.
"It's my first time attending the forum. And I'm very surprised that you have a very high level of innovation. China is open to ideas. Openness is the way to make innovations," said Prof. Hussein Sherief, a member of the International Committee for Scientific and Technical Data (CODATA).
Int'l guests hail integration of technology, innovation at Beijing forum
