Experts Social Responsibility in the Process of Large-Scale Nature-Transforming National Projects : Focusing on the Case of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project in Korea

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the social responsibility of experts in the fields of science and technology in the process of large-scale nature-transforming national projects. This paper took the case of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project in Korea−which has been admired internationally as a Korean-style Green New Deal on the one hand, and has caused domestic controversies especially among experts on the other hand−in order to deal with the issue of experts social responsibility. The research questions raised in this paper include why and how experts should take social responsibility and to what extent they have to be responsible. Through exploration of the case of the Four Major Rivers Project, this paper argues that experts have to claim social responsibility when national policies and projects are associated with scientific and technological elements, since these events hugely impact the daily lives of the public and the condition of the environment and demand large investments of public money. It also underscores the necessity of having socially responsible experts reveal their values and stances based on verifiable evidence and giving the public a chance to determine which set of experts are working for the public good. Experts should be allowed to contest their arguments and positions under conditions where free speech is respected so they can practice social responsibility. Whether this is allowed or not can reveal the level of democracy of a society. The Four Major Rivers Project identifies the importance of experts social responsibility and the conditions for its realization.