Korean Gov't to Invest 2 Trillion Won into ICT Industry Next Year

The Korean government will make a 2 trillion won investment in 2016 to nurture the ICT industry and cultivate export markets.

On Sept. 1, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced that relevant government agencies established next year's plan to promote the ICT sector and encourage convergence research, and finalized next year’s budget for 1.9346 trillion won (US$1.6412 billion) during the ICT strategy committee meeting on Aug. 31. The plan contains main ICT and convergence policy tasks.

This plan was centered on 9 ICT strategic industries and 10 convergence areas.

First, the government decided to inject 595.7 billion won (US$505.4 million) into 9 strategic future growth engines – 5G mobile communications, smart devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cloud computing, information security, UHD broadcasting, software, and digital content. Considering each industry's growth stage and the scale of investment, it set a goal to develop technology per item and create early markets.

Seoul plans to pursue a government project worth 575.1 billion won (US$487.9 million) in 10 ICT convergence fields – medical, financial, education, transportation, city affairs, smart home, culture, tourism, agriculture, fishing, livestock, energy, and traditional industries – and to encourage private investment. It is also going to create a self-sustaining convergence ecosystem by easing regulations that hinder the development of convergence industries.

The government will implement digital health care services linked with the results of medical check-ups, and create a testbed for financial technology (fintech). It will increase the number of schools pioneering in software education from 160 to 900 in 2016, and pursue pilot projects for autonomous vehicles. It also aims to revitalize smart tourism using ICT experience services and to expand smart farms.