SILICON VALLEY, USA — US Correspondent of Korea IT Times, Sam Sung-hwan Hwang, had an interview with Young-sang Lee, CEO of DataStreams and Honored Chairman of the Korea Software Enterprise Association (KOSEA) at K Tech@Silicon Valley 2012 to discuss K-Tech in Silicon Valley.
Korea IT Times (KIT): What do you think about the K-Tech
Lee: This event, held by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the NIPA, and the KOTRA is encouraging small and mid-sized Korean companies to publicize their technological prowess and develop their overseas markets. “K-Tech@Silicon Valley 2012” is surely providing a big helping hand to small and mid-sized Korean companies as the event, giving them a rare opportunity to form good international business networks. I am happy to see that the K-Tech is well organized and being handled accordingly.
KIT: You have had many rich experiences taking part in overseas events and trade shows. Would you compare the K-Tech to other overseas events and trade show
Lee: I frequently visit Japan and China to take part in events and trade shows. However, they were not as impressive and active as this K-tech event. Since Silicon Valley has many semiconductor companies and an active IT industry, I have thought that the valley is a must-have market for us. If Korean software companies continue to try to make a foray into Silicon Valley like the K-Tech, they can enter this market without difficulty. I also think that if the Korean government holds events like K-Tech@China, as China is a big market in terms of software, we can create more business opportunities in China. China is an undeveloped market for Korean software developers, so its future potential is huge.
KIT: How is the international competitiveness of Korean software
Lee: If Koran software companies want to secure international competitiveness, they need to localize their business by employing locals who understand regional markets. The technological power of Korean software companies is great enough to compete with foreign companies throughout the world market. However, Korean software company’s localization and overseas marketing lags behind their competitors to a large extent. Companies need financial and human resources to succeed in overseas markets. But as most Korean software companies are small or mid-sized companies, they have difficulty securing enough financial and human resources. If the government gives support to Korean software companies, they will be able to compete and win over their foreign competitors in the world market.
KIT: It is hard to make software hit products in a short period, as it is intangible, unlike electronic products. Sales of software require long-term customer service. How can Korean companies address this problem when they develop overseas markets
Lee: Korean software developers must be given support from overseas human resources for a long period to deal with the problem, as it is big financial burden to secure overseas human resources. Overseas partners will help Korean software companies from overseas human networks at lower costs. It will be possible for Korean software publishers to solve this problem by sharing costs and cooperate on technological development with overseas partners. Current big companies in Korea were able to globalize themselves thanks to support from the government in the 1960s and 1970s. Small and mid-sized Korean software companies can succeed in the globalization of their business if they receive such governmental support. In particular, as Korean software companies do not have rich experiences to back themselves up, and are weak in terms of overseas business, I think they can secure international competitiveness soon if the government helps them survey markets and form human resources networks.
KIT: Did you have a chance to meet companies and individuals who could be your overseas partners
Lee: Not yet. But I am looking forward to such a chance.
KIT: How is the level of Korean software engineers compared to those in foreign countries
Lee: : At the beginning of the 2000s, there was strong demand for software thanks to a boom in venture start-ups. As the boom subsided, the ecosystem of software was considerably destroyed. These days, the number of students who apply for computer science and software-related departments is smaller, hindering the development of the Korean software industry. Even though the government carries out various policies to nurture software engineers, industrial circles are having difficulty securing enough excellent human resources. I think that the volume of the supply of human resources is not enough, but their technological level is very high. In particular, in the early period of the Korean software industry, software engineers worked hard to develop a wide array of software despite unfavorable situations. They contributed a great deal to the growth of the Korean software industry.
KIT: During the K-Tech event, a job fair was held to recruit excellent overseas human resources. How was the fair
Lee: Job seekers formed long rows in front of booths of big companies, but booths of small companies could interview seven or eight job seekers a day. We will be very happy if our company recruits one or two individuals through the job fair.
