The Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI, President Jiwoong Yoon) held the “2025 STEPI Global Symposium” on the theme “Pathways of Policy Innovation for National Challenges” at Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery on Thursday, September 18, at 2:30 p.m.
The symposium was divided into two sessions: (1) Approaches and Practices for Tackling Wicked Problems in Public Policy and (2) Wicked Problems in Cybersecurity. Discussions focused on strategies for addressing national challenges and global cooperation in cybersecurity.
In his opening remarks, President Jiwoong Yoon emphasized that today’s complex national challenges require governance innovation, interdisciplinary approaches, and international cooperation because stakeholders, problems, and solutions are deeply interconnected.
Hyukchae Koo, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, highlighted the role of science and technology as the key driver in solving complex challenges and recognized STEPI’s accumulated research efforts in providing a policy foundation.
In the first session, Professor Brian Head from the University of Queensland gave the keynote on tackling wicked problems, describing the current policy environment as one where crises and complex issues are routine. STEPI’s Sungjoo Hong presented South Korea’s policy landscape from the wicked problem perspective, calling for active engagement on immediate challenges. A panel discussion followed, moderated by Woojin Lee from the Ministry of Science and ICT, with experts discussing policy innovation strategies.
In the second session, INTERPOL’s Hyemin Lim spoke about barriers to global cooperation and INTERPOL’s role in sharing crime information across its 196 member countries. Ilseok Oh from the Institute for National Security Strategy discussed the complexity of cyber risks and government efforts to strengthen cybersecurity through legislation, infrastructure protection, international cooperation, and workforce development. A panel moderated by STEPI's Wonsun Cho explored cyber threat complexity, cooperation needs, and response measures.
