Unlike other developed countries, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) discourse has become the central element within technology governance in Korea. This paper examines the reasons for the discourse’s success and its political and social implications. Based on the analysis of policy documents and the media coverage, I argue that political and economic elites have actively introduced the 4IR discourse to create novel momentum for promoting Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and to justify deregulatory measures while re-enacting the developmentalist imaginary. I also highlight that the 4IR discourse’s promoters have drawn upon the dialectics between the desirable future and the nation’s shared fear to urge the Korean society to accept the measures privileging the industry as the means of making the nation a developed country and avoiding being colonized again.

中文翻译：

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怀着过去的恐惧推动ICT产业的未来

与其他发达国家不同，第四次工业革命（4IR）话语已成为韩国技术治理的核心要素。本文考察了该话语成功的原因及其政治和社会影响。基于对政策文件和媒体报道的分析，我认为政治和经济精英们积极引入 4IR 话语，为促进信息和通信技术（ICT）创造新动力，并在重新制定发展主义想象的同时证明放松管制措施的合理性。 .