A major paradigm shift in the management system of 1,400 trillion won worth of state assets… including financial and virtual assets

A major paradigm shift in the management system of 1,400 trillion won worth of state assets… including financial and virtual assets.

Breaking away from a real estate-centric system… managing assets with AI and integrated DB.

The management system for state assets, valued at 1,400 trillion won, will be completely redesigned.

The plan is to move away from the existing real estate-centric management system and establish an integrated management system that encompasses finance, intellectual property, and virtual assets.

On the 6th, the government discussed the 'K-Asset Innovation Project' promotion direction, which contains these plans, at an emergency economic headquarters meeting and an economic and structural innovation related ministers' meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol.

The core of reorganizing the state asset management system is to newly enact the 'Framework Act on National Assets' to replace the current State Property Act, which was established in 1950.

Previously, 'state property' was simply focused on ownership or preservation, but the aim is to shift the paradigm to 'national assets' centered on active operation and value creation, thereby managing various assets in an integrated manner.

As of the end of last year, real estate (711.1 trillion won) accounted for the largest portion of national assets, but other types of assets such as securities and equity investments (328.7 trillion won) and intellectual property (2.3 trillion won) also recorded around 300 trillion won. As of April this year, virtual assets held by the central government were approximately 78 billion won.

The government plans to create a separate chapter for each core asset group (real estate, intellectual property, securities/equity investments, virtual assets) for which customized management is essential due to their physical and economic characteristics, thereby establishing an independent regulatory system optimized for the characteristics of each asset.

The control tower function of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which oversees national assets, will also be greatly strengthened.

It will enhance overall coordination and management functions, such as expanding the scope of entrustment to the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) by each ministry, and establish a (tentative name) 'National Asset Policy Council' to discuss ways to organically link and utilize assets of local governments and public institutions with different ownership entities.

To reform governance, the existing State Property Policy Deliberation Committee will be expanded into the 'National Asset Management Committee,' and 'National Asset Managers' will be introduced for each ministry to assign overall responsibility for assets.

The special exception system, which has been operated mainly for real estate, will also be reformed to strictly stipulate the principles for allowing exceptions in the basic law and to significantly strengthen pre- and post-control.

The integration of asset information databases (DB) and the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) will also be pursued.

Public asset information will be linked with dBrain within the year, and in the future, a new AI-based dedicated DB, tentatively named 'K-Asset Cloud,' will be established to create a system that 'matches' asset supply and demand annually.

The government plans to prepare a draft of the Framework Act on National Assets within the year through a public-private joint working group led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea Development Institute (KDI).