 | Issue: | Asia-Pacific 2004 |
| Article no.: | 1 | |
| Topic: | Korea’s IT Development Strategies | |
| Author: | Dr Chin Daeje, PhD | |
| Title: | Minister of Information and Communication | |
| Organisation: | Republic of Korea | |
| PDF size: | 188KB |
About author
Dr Chin, Daeje, PhD, is the Minister of Information and Communication of the Republic of Korea. Dr Chin began as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard ‘s laboratory; he later moved to IBM’s Watson Research Center. Dr Chin, prior to being named to head the Ministry, served as the President and CEO of Samsung Electronics’ Digital Media Network Business. In his long career at Samsung, starting as the Principal Engineer at the company’s Semiconductor Business Unit, Dr Chin served in a series of increasingly important positions in several Samsung business units, including: Vice-President, Memory Business; Senior Vice-President, Semiconductor Business; Executive Vice-President, System LSI Business; President and CTO, Corporate R&D Center; and President, Digital Media Network Business. Minister Chin earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, USA, a Master of Science in Electronic Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, USA, a Master of Science in Electronic Engineering from Seoul National University, Korea, and a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering from Seoul National University, Korea. In recognition of his many achievements in industry, the Minister was named the Techno CEO of 2002 by the Ministry of Science and Technology and, in 2001, received the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit award. Dr Chin has six overseas patents, 15 domestic patents and several publications to his name.
Article abstract
Korea’s government has promoted the use of information and communication technology since the mid-1980s. Today, Korea is one of the world’s most advanced users of information technology. Its IT industry accounts for roughly 15 per cent of its GDP and 40 per cent of its GDP’s growth. Recognising the importance of these technologies in its economy, Korea has embarked upon an ambitious programme to stimulate the growth of this sector through research and development of new technologies aimed at creating, not simply entering, new markets.
Full Article
Korea’s Informatisation Results and Tasks The Korean Government built the leading information society in the world. Since the mid-1980s, it has promoted informatisation policies, through government-led projects, to bring Korea’s knowledge and information society to life. Now, the use of Internet applications has become generalised, and Koreans, using broadband Internet access, enjoy online shopping, banking, stock-trading, chatting with friends, watching movies or processing their civil affairs at home or work. The recently introduced Internet college admission preparation lectures (e-learning) are emerging as a dramatic solution to the chronic problem of private tutoring expenses in Korea; they clearly show the intimate relationship between Korean society and the Internet. In addition, the proliferation of Internet applications is proving to be a way to generate new value-added applications that reduce the production and administration expenses at many companies and create new business opportunities. The accelerated demand for IT (information technology) equipment has not only helped the IT industry; it has also created new markets, such as those for digital content and for cyber shopping malls – among many others, generated employment and provided a host of new opportunities. The profusion of Internet applications has amplified the significance of the IT industry and increased its impact upon the Korean economy. The IT industry has accounted for 14.9 per cent of the GDP in 2002, and has contributed 40 per cent of the increase in the GDP during the past five years. The IT industry has emerged as the growth engine of Korea’s economy and is now one of the backbone industries that boost the competitiveness of the entire economy. In addition, digital convergence – the fusing of broadcasting, communications and the Internet – has recently accelerated, thanks to this accentuated development of the IT industry. Going forward, we expect to see the ubiquitous digital environment – where microcomputers play a large part in the life of people, and devices and environment are connected to one another – to make rapid progress. Based on this vision, several countries are conducting research on ubiquitous computing and sponsoring various experimental projects. To respond to the latest changes in the informatisation environment, and to contribute towards raising the nation’s per capita income to US$20,000, the Korean Government is searching for new ways to accelerate the country’s growth by actively fostering the incorporation of a virtuous development cycle in the IT industry’s structure and, in this way, drive the expansion of the ICT value chain. IT Industry’s Value Chain and Virtuous Cycle Development Structure The IT industry’s value chain starts with the implementation of IT services; this closely interconnects the infrastructure, equipment and terminals, software and content, and simultaneously drives the sector’s growth. Korea’s investment in network infrastructure has been expanded because of the implementation and facilitation of new IT services; as a result, the advanced equipment and terminal, software and content industries will grow. Since the late 1990s, the IT industry has given momentum to and driven the growth of Korea’s economy. This occurred because the industry created a virtuous cycle and built its value chain by continuously implementing new services, such as CDMA mobile telecom and broadband Internet access services. IT Industry’s Value Chain Recognising the importance of the IT value chain, and the structure of the virtuous development cycle, the first eight new and existing services of the value chain will be stimulated and facilitated this year to build the momentum of the virtuous development cycle. Moreover, the government plans, in advance, to build the Broadband Convergence Network (BcN), IPv6, and u-Sensor Network (USN); these will provide essential infrastructure and support for the eight key services. Above all, the government intends to establish a framework for industrialisation by promoting its “9 IT” plan. This plan, prepared last year to cultivate new economic growth and momentum, took into consideration the potential for market growth and technological competitiveness as well as the need to achieve visible results. Infrastructure Development and the Implementation of New Services The government plays an important and relevant role in support of the IT service industry by determining standards and service methods and by licensing interested businesses, as needed, giving them the opportunity to participate fully in the development of the sector. This year, the government plans to develop five new services – 2.3GHz mobile Internet, satellite and terrestrial DMB (digital multi-media broadcasting), home network services, telematics and RFID (radio frequency identification) – and promote the facilitation of three existing services: W-CDMA; terrestrial DTV (digital TV); and Internet telephony. To enhance Korea’s IT infrastructure, the government is contemplating the building of a BcN (broadband convergence network), which simultaneously accommodates communications, broadcasting and Internet; implements and penetrates IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6 – next-generation Internet); and constructs the USN (Universal Services Network), which has recently surfaced in the spotlight of the ubiquitous revolution. A BcN is a next-generation integrated network, in which communications, broadcasting and Internet are fused, and users can safely use quality-guaranteed, seamless, broadband multimedia services at any time and anywhere. It is also a core infrastructure to build the ubiquitous platform. Beginning this year, the government intends to commence the Phase 1 projects to develop core technologies, offer trial services and advance subscriber networks; this will provide 50–100 Mbps services, which are 50 times faster than the current services (1.5–2 Mbps) by 2010. Furthermore, given that the current Internet address system, IPv4, has inadequate quality and security levels, and its Internet address resources are likely to become exhausted around 2006, telecom equipment and terminal development is in progress to implement IPv6. Using the IPv6 trial network (KOREAv6), services that are planned for the newly developed products are scheduled for testing. In 2005, IPv6-based wired commercial services are planned for release. The transformation of all networks into “All-IPv6” networks is slated for 2010. In addition, the government is contemplating the development of core technologies, such as RFID and sensor development by the semiconductor industry, and fully promote the USN trial project of related applications. These technologies all have large “wave effects”, in such areas as logistics, environment and apparel, among others. To carry out these trials, the government plans to concentrate and combine the capacity of academic and industry research centres to systematically develop core element technologies and encourage private companies to actively participate in the projects and build the markets. The government also intends to participate actively in the international standard-setting processes. In this way, domestic technologies can be included within these standards and new products that adhere to international standards can be developed in the early stages of the technological life cycle. Accordingly, a USN Centre was established in the beginning of this year, and the government is promoting the exchange of advanced technological information by fostering close connections between academic and industrial research centres and establishing the means for systematic cooperation with relevant foreign institutions. “9 IT New Growth Momentum Sectors” – Achieving Visible Results Last year, Korea selected nine “new growth momentum” information technology sectors to lead its IT industry. In making this selection, the technologies were evaluated, the possibilities for future market growth and competitiveness were considered, and domestic capability appraised. Subsequently, a master plan was established for each sector. The 9 IT “new growth momentums” include: next-generation mobile telecom (1), digital TV (2), and home network (3) sectors, because of their large “wave effects” and Korea’s ability to continuously maintain its competitive advantage by developing the source technologies; IT SoC (Information Technology System on a Chip) (4), embedded software (5) and digital content (6) sectors, to become added value platforms for the IT industry; and intelligent service robots (7), next-generation PC (8) and telematics (9) sectors, to lead the evolution of intelligent devices, broadband, and of future IT technologies in order to occupy, from the beginning, new market niches. Beginning this year, Korea plans to reinforce its R&D investments to cultivate these IT growth momentums, concentrate on developing core and source technologies, and create markets in advance. In addition, the government intends to maximise the investment effects by developing methods to: strengthen the system that evaluates the relative value of R&D results; establish management responsibility systems, using private project managers; implement PECOM, a general management system for R&D; plan, evaluate, commercialise and market the results. In step with these plans, the government will also focus on cultivating human resources by sponsoring university IT research centres and overseas education. This will increase our human resources, strengthen cooperation with major countries and help to establish our new technologies as international standards. Increasing National Per Capita Income to US$20,000 with Broadband IT Initially, the Korean Government plans to inject KRW800 billion in the above-mentioned projects to implement the new services early, build the infrastructure, and cultivate new growth momentum. The private sector anticipates investing KRW1.2 trillion in these plans. If the projects progress smoothly, we expect the private sector to post exports of US$50 billion within the next 10 years. All this is expected by the government to resolve the unemployment problem and raise the national per capita income to US$20,000 through job creation. All these projects will provide a platform with the core factors needed to build the ubiquitous environment. The three infrastructure projects (BcN, USN and IPv6) will provide networks that enable communications any time and anywhere. The 9 IT new growth momentums should result in devices and technologies, with convenient services, that people will use in their everyday life. By strategically promoting these projects, the government hopes to create new opportunities, enabling a ubiquitous society, and make Korea an even stronger digital nation than it already is.
