Restarting ICT Cooperation
The South Korean Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning announced on May 2 that South Korea and Iran revised their memorandum of understanding (MOU) for mutual cooperation in the ICT sector signed in 1990 and resume the operation of their ICT Cooperation Committee. The idea is to make use of South Korea’s advanced information and communications technology in accelerating the development of the high-speed Internet and ICT markets of Iran. The ICT market of Iran, which is currently estimated at around US$19 billion, is expected to reach US$29.8 billion in size in 2020.
The revised MOU, which is scheduled to be signed within this year, includes additional details on policy consulting, business assistance, etc. The ICT Cooperation Committee had been in operation from 1991 to 2004 but was temporarily closed due to economic sanctions on Iran.
At present, no broadband Internet service is available in Iran, and thus South Korean companies are expected to be able to have a lot of opportunities in the country. One of the examples is KT. The mobile carrier continued to work with Iran in spite of the economic sanctions by providing TCI, the largest telecom operator in Iran, with consulting for communications network design and operation. KT and TCI signed another MOU at this time for more cooperation. They are planning to be engaged in telecom and broadband Internet infrastructure projects while setting up working groups to find out more collaboration opportunities.
In the meantime, SK Telecom and the Ministry of Energy of Iran agreed to the launching of IoT-based remote power control projects covering 15 buildings. In addition, the National Iranian Gas Company is to work with SK Telecom in a gas metering project that covers 5,000 households. SK Telecom is planning to utilize its IoT technology to cooperate with Iran in various fields such as gas supply, water supply and smart home.
The South Korean and Iranian governments are beefing up their policy cooperation as well. The Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning and the Ministry of Science Research & Technology of Iran concluded a MOU with each other for collaboration in both basic and applied sciences and hold their first joint committee meeting to that end next year. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute of South Korea is planning to work with TEM Investment Company, which owns 50% of TCI shares, for ICT development, too.
South Korea joined the economic sanctions on Iran from 2010 but its ICT exports to Iran continued to increase. Specifically, the amount increased from US$736 million to US$1,028.4 million between 2009 and 2015. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are especially popular with consumers in Iran. In October last year, South Korean electronics manufacturers recorded a share of 51.6% in the local mobile phone market, 93.2% in LCD TV, 84.5% in refrigerator, 78.3% in washing machine and 78.5% in air conditioner.