Ahn Chul-soo, chairman of the board of AhnLab, speaks at a press conference on Wednesday to mark his return after three years of study in the U.S. /Yonhap

"Young people are losing the sense of challenge. If this phenomenon of young people turning their eyes from science and engineering gets worse, it could lead to a national crisis," he said. "Recent years have witnessed less and less students wanting to become scientists and engineers. In the venture industry as well, it's very hard to find budding talent to foster."

Ahn stressed the importance of social incentives and infrastructure to encourage that sense of challenge in young people. It's for this reason that he accepted an offer by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) to work as chair professor. Starting this fall he will teach entrepreneurship at KAIST, where he hopes he can inspire young people to become engines for change.

The 46-year-old doctor-turned-entrepreneur also urged the government to take a hard look at Korea's conglomerate-dominated business structure so that young people can successfully nurture venture businesses. "I'm totally for the government's deregulation plan, but it should intensify its oversight of the market," Ahn argued. "I urge the government to play an invisible role well in preventing a situation where the law of the jungle rules in business."

Ahn also warned that the recent hacker attack on Korea's largest e-marketplace, Auction, was not only predictable but just the tip of the iceberg. "Even the U.S., where efficiency is emphasized in every way, spends 10 percent of its IT budget on security. Korea allocates a mere 1 percent," he said. "A risk management system must be established across the society."

(englishnews@chosun.com )