Deputy Minister Kim Yong-soo of the Office of ICT Policy at the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP).(Photo:MSIP)

"Recognizing ICT-centered economic growth in the mid- and long-term perspective, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) plans to spur innovation in the whole of the industry community and a paradigm shift through accelerating of convergence between ICT and other industries and intelligence ICT technologies.” said Deputy Minister Kim Yong-soo of the Office of ICT Policy at the MSIP. 

The following are excerpts of an interview in which he spoke of the mid- and long-term strategies to develop the Korean ICT industry and other ICT policies. 

Question: Will you introduce your office to our readers?

Answer: The Office of ICT Policy under the supervision of the send MSIP vice minister is charged with Internet convergence policies, ICT industry policies, software policies, and cyber security policies. 

The Internet Convergence Policy Bureau is responsible for establishing and implementing policies to reinvigorate the Internet economy, including e-commerce transactions, and nurture such new industries as Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data with the goal of resurging the national economy through ICT convergence with all industries.

The ICT Industry Policy Bureau devotes itself to establishing and implementing so-called comprehensive K-ICT policies to strengthen the competitiveness of the ICT industries, and supervising R&D in the ICT sector as well as creating a venture ecosystem of startups.

The Software Policy Bureau deals with spreading the creation of a software-friendly environment, nurturing software industries, and concentrating on software convergence with the target of making the nation a software-oriented society. 

Lastly, the Cyber Security Policy Bureau strives to make state and society safety by preventing a variety of accidents in advance through a focus on the nurturing of the cyber security industry. The Office of ICT Policy plays leading roles in brightening the future of the Korean ICT industry. 

Q: Will you explain your office’s major policy achievements?

A: As we mentioned above, our office has achieved outcomes in diverse segments of each bureau during 2015. We has laid a foundation for spreading new internet industries as the nation saw the IoT, big data and cloud markets surge 14.7 percent, 30 percent and 43.7 percent, respectively. Our office has focused on excavating and overhauling regulations standing in the way of reinvigorating the new convergence industries, issue preliminary licenses for two internet banks and giving a preliminary go-ahead for Bluetooth electronic balance and DCS (Dish Convergence Solution) service.

We’ve strengthened a competitive edge by revamping the fundamentals of the ICT industry. The K-ICT Strategy plan, one of the representative ICT plans, has contributed to give a shot in the ICT exporting industry as the nation saw exports jump to $145.6 billion, ranking third in the world as of the end of October. Regarding diverse success story companies, our intense support for startups and venture companies, Korea has become the first country in Asia and the third in the world to open a Google campus at Seoul National University in March. Regarding diverse success story companies, our intense support for startups and venture companies has led to adding Korean companies to the list of 2015 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers. And 10 billion won and 13 billion won have been raised for investing into Smart Study and Beatpacking Company, respectively. 

We has gained ground in making software-oriented society by reinventing education for software, as software education for primary and middle school students has become mandatory and o software universities are inaugurated. The year 2015 is a year in which the Korean software industry has secured a growth momentum as the industry saw its exports surge 10 percent in the first half. The future prospects of the new digital content markets are rosy, as Korea has introduced Screen X, a new cinematic technology in 270 degrees.

It is noteworthy that we have established so-called K-ICT Security Development Strategy plan to create an environment for promoting the cyber security industry and establish cyber security regimes to prevent accidents in advance and amended the Act on the Promotion of the Cyber Security Industry.

Q: Will you touch on the current status and prospects of the Korean ICT industry?

A: Even though the global ICT market is forecast to decline in 2015, the Korean ICT industry exported $145.6 in the first 10 months of the year, the similar to last year’s, propping up the national economy with a 33 percent share in the nation’s aggregate export market. The nation ranked 3rd in the world in terms of ICT exports, following China and Germany, up a notch from 4th in 2014. Korea topped the ICT Development Index among the 167 surveyed countries in 2015, up 2th in 2014. 

The global ICT industry, entering a stage of maturity, maintains a low growth, so prospects of the Korean ICT industry are not rosy as Korean mainstay items, including smartphones, semiconductors and display products, saw growth rates slow down. Despite the slow growth of the hardware sector, the Korean software industry continues to grow. Such new convergence industries as big data and cloud are predicted to establish themselves as new ICT growth engines, as the software sector has gained ground as a growth momentum. 

Q: Will you elaborate on the current status of the ICT convergence industries and future plans?

A: Korea badly needs to make nationwide efforts to create the new convergence industries and markets by making the most of advanced internet infrastructure to reinvent the national economy. Of late, the global ICT convergence market and demand are on a sharp rise, but diverse regulations intertwined with conflicts of interests, still makes our competitive edge weakening. As advanced countries are scrambling to turn to ICT-based convergence strategies for economic development, Korea needs to utilize convergence industries for resurging the national economy. Accordingly, we plan to continue to explore new growth engines for sustainability to cope with the accelerating of low growths of the Korean and global economies and a shift in the future paradigm to a convergence-oriented one. 

During next year, we plan to concentrate on nurturing the top nine strategic industries, including 5G, IoT, cyber security, and software so as to achieve sustainable growth of the Korean ICT industry through the efficient implementation of the K-ICT Strategies. We intend to implement convergence projects with a focus on public services to spread convergence in top 10 areas, anjd help the private sector create a convergence ecosystem on a voluntary basis. We strive to make the most of super ultra networks, to be created for ICT growth, and establish ICT innovation centers for reinvigorating regional economies and connect them with Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation. In an effort to revamp industrial fundamentals and make an inroad into global markets, the government plans to cultivate such future manpower as youth and collegians, and expand national R&D innovation capabilities while striving to aggressively provide support for launching SME venture companies and their entry into global markets. 

Q: Will you explain about the current status and prospects of the development of 5G telecom network.

A: The government unveiled the “Future ICT Industry Development Strategies” plan designed to lead the upcoming era of 5G in January 2014. It plans to demonstrate a pilot 5G service during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games and commercialize it by 2020. To this end, the government is now implementing the GiGa-Korea Project designed to secure element technologies for realizing 5G during the period between 2013 and 2020 and 5G integration R&D tasks during the perid between 2014 and 2018. Under the GiGa Korea Project, the government launched a Smart Experimentation Project with KT and LG U+ in September 2015 with the goal of demonstrating a pilot 5G service. A pre-5G service will be demonstrated for the implementation of 5G integration tasks. In the private sector, KT, the official telecom service provider of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, plans to establish a network to demonstrate a 5G service in cooperation with the MSIP and the Organizing Committee of the Olympics. Each Korean telecom service provider plans to test-operate 5G equipment and establish pilot networks in cooperation with such equipment makers as Samsung Electronics, Ericson, Nokia and Hwawei. 

Such international standards organizations as ITU and 3GPP are poised to launch the full-fledged discussion on setting international standards on 5G in late 2017. The commercialization of 5G technologies whose standardization is to be complete in 2020 is to be realized around the year, possibly bringing tremendous changes in society. 

Q: Will you be specific about the prospects of the IoT era and its spill-over effects?

A: The global IoT market is forecast to swell to $1 trillion in 2020 with an annual average growth rate of 26 percent. In a beginning stage, the IoT hardware sector will likely take a lion’s share in sales, but platform and service segments will take a 60 percent share in global aggregate IoT sales in 2022. In the meantime, the Korean IoT market is projected to maintain an annual average growth rate of 29.1 percent until 2022. 

The spreading of the IoT to advanced medical equipment, factory automation, national defense, environment and other industries as well as all parts of our daily life will likely lead to innovation of diverse services. The economic spill-over effects the employment of IoT will bring in top nine strategic areas, including factory, transportation, and city sectors are likely to jump to up to $11.1 trillion by 2025. 

Q: Will you introduce the mid- and long-term plans to develop the Korean ICT industry?

A: Recognizing ICT-centered economic growth in the mid- and long-term perspective, the MSIP plans to spur innovation in the whole of the industry community and a paradigm shift through accelerating of convergence between ICT and other industries and intelligence ICT technologies.

First, as part of efforts to induce demand through massive investing in the ICT convergence industry, the government plans to invest a total of 2.1 trillion won by 2019 to implement massive ICT convergence projects in top six areas, including education, medical service, tourism, city, energy, and transportation sectors. As the second strategy, the government plans to induce innovation throughout society through the development of intelligence ICT technologies. Under the K-ICT Strategies, Korea has aggressively nurtured top nine mainstay industries, including software, IoT and Big Data, helping each sector to contribute to the development of the ICT industry. It is essential to combine the top nine mainstay industries and intelligence ICT technology to future evolve all the industries, including manless cars, smart medical service, and prevention of terrorist attacks and innovate society. To this end, we plans to focus on the nurturing of such promising intelligence information markets as big data and cyber security on a selective basis and implement intelligent software-based basic technology R&D tasks with the goal of being an intelligence cyber information industry powerhouse.