'PC Revolution' in the 1980s and 'Internet Revolution' in 2000 shook South Korea and brought up the country as an emerging IT power nation. Exactly a decade later Koreans are still hoping for another ripple effect in the IT market by creating a montage of different fields of industries. Korean government and telecommunications industries convened to blend distinct types of businesses such as finance and medical care with telecommunications, 3DTV, and smart phones. As strange as it sounds, Korea Communications Commission (KCC) and other government-affiliated organizations summoned at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on January 21 under the event of 'Prospect on Telecommunications Industry Conference of 2010'. Each organization's representatives spoke with one voice about the convergence of various ventures, that the complex of mobiles, 3D and other next-generational projects together with technologies from different businesses will generate a new domain.
On this day, domestic firms pinpointed smart phone telecommunications, 3DTV broadcasting, and eco-friendly multiservice as their hefty issue to juggle with. Even before the conference and the government diving into telecommunications market, Samsung, LG, and other telecommunications service companies have already carried out plans to merge with other secondary enterprises.
What is noteworthy is that Korean government is stepping in to support domestic telecommunications industry. "The government will fully support 3D business and announce development program for the renewed telecommunications and software services that will help them enter the overseas market," said the Advisor to the President for Information Technology department.
KCC, as well, takes an equal role in this project in which it will place importance on the so called, 'Green Fusion Service' to extend telecommunications service into finance, medical care, distribution, and education, all in all amplifying its synergy effect. Such organizations' concerted efforts can also be interpreted as supporting Korea's three telecommunications giants-KT, SK Telecom, LG Telecom-who strive to form a complex service to their customers.
More specifically, KCC established 'the Committee for the Promotion of Private & Public Cooperation' that combines not only telecommunications and broadcasting firms, but also different enterprises that specialize in producing software and media contents and this committee will take effect from the beginning of second quarter as a demonstration project.
"Telecommunications industry resuscitated surrounding companies in the midst of economic recession, but it needs to further develop by extracting new, innovative services in the wireless market and expanding pay-per-view system," said Jung Man-Won, President of Korea Association of Information & Telecommunications (KAIT) at the forum held in Lotte Hotel. He continued to say, "Through converging telecommunications with different businesses, we will together reconstruct and empower Korea's telecommunications and broadcasting industry. The service sector alone cannot produce the same results of exportation as manufacturing sector while it produces larger economic ripple effect than the manufacturers."
Meanwhile, Choi Si-Joong, the Chairman of KCC, said during the conference that "one can expect there will be an explosion in Korea's media industry this year and fierce competition around the world to procure 3D and smart phone sector will erupt." Furthermore, according to Kim Heung-Nam the Research Director at Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the newly-merged telecommunications compound to tear down the former boundary between terminals, network, and service sectors and this will lead to a cultural revolution that alters the way how people think and react. In other words, by converging with other divisions' technologies and services, the former telecommunications business structure is going to change and the modern, blend of different businesses will affect what new cultural paradigm will bring about.
Such metamorphosis in the IT exemplar will arguably influence the market from early this year and will, by and large, be the biggest social change of our times. While conventional wire and wireless telecommunications market dwindle or remain deadlocked, value-added services market such as mobile Internet and games will grow exponentially by the expansion of the mobile industry.
As stated by Bang Suk-ho, Research Director at Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), "Wire market that was the main asset to the telecommunications will presumably shrink by 4.5 percent, but mobile market, together with increased production of smart phones will escalate by 3.1 percent and generate approximately KRW23 trillion in sales." By that yardstick cell phone and TV market gained KRW85 trillion, roughly 8.9 percent growth compared to last year. This growth in mobile equipment is back in line with gauge prior to 2008 and before the financial crisis.
Generally speaking, Korea holds high place on IT human resources and its infrastructure but it lags behind foreign countries for its lack of employing those services and disclosing institutional regulation. Although it may be seem a bit late to produce a new division within the IT industry, the well-made plan is off to a flying start and expect many more.
This event was hosted by KCC and jointly led by six other organizations including, Korea Association of Information & Telecommunications (KAIT), Electronics and Telecommunications Research and Institute (ETRI), Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA), and Korea Radio Promotion Agency (KORPA).
