The highest level in the IT field globally
The voice of applause about Korea's IT is big at home and abroad. That Korea is the highest level in the IT field globally, is being recognized in the world.
In terms of informatization, the popularization rate of high-speed Internet and the use rate of Internet are reaching to 80% and 73.5% respectively and Internet usage base and its utilization degree also are very high.
On the occasion of the ITU World Telecom Hong Kong which will be held on December 4 to 8, 2006, Rho Jun-hyong, Minister of Information and Communication (MIC, www.mic.go.kr), Republic of Korea, notes that the national informatization level is greatly rising as last year Korea rose to the 5th ranking globally in an UN e-government assessment.
In the economic side as well, Korea's IT industry accounts for 15% of GDP and 36% of entire exports. Through its 2005 materials, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has announced that Korea is the first country among OECD countries in terms of relative IT trade importance in comparison with the entire product trade and IT product income and expenditure ratio. Based on such outcomes, Korea accounted for No.1 during two consecutive years following last year in a Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) assessment through which ITU measured synthetical IT levels of 180 countries all over the world.
The Korea IT Times is pleased to be able to insert an exclusive interview article with Minister Rho on the occasion of the ITU World Telecom Hong Kong -- Ed.
Q: First of all, what is the IT publicity strategy Korea will unfold in this ITU Telecom World 2006 Hong Kong Exhibition
A: This ITU Telecom World Exhibition is a kind of IT World Cup, which takes place every three years. 700 companies from 40 countries took part this year. Our country plans to operate a Korean pavilion composed of an IT enterprise pavilion in which 15 promising smaller companies participate and experience/event zone. The Ministry of Information & Technology will take advantage of this occasion as a momentum for overseas publicity and overseas market inroads of our corporations by showcasing participating companies' cutting-edge product at our IT enterprise pavilion and by exhibiting/demonstrating state-of-the-art nextgeneration technology such as Wearable PC and Terrestrial DMB in its publicity/experience zone. Moreover, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, KT and SK Telecom come to present their cutting-edge products by operating independent pavilions respectively.
Q: Korea succeeded in attracting The Second OECD ICT Ministerial Meeting to be held in the upcoming 2008 at the 51st Annual General Meeting of the OECD IT Committee held last October. Please elaborate on the significance of the attraction and its preparation plan.
A: OECD IT field's ICT Ministerial Meeting comes to take place in Seoul, Korea 10 years after it was held for the first time in Ottawa, Canada in 1998.
Its significance is big in that the Meeting is an OECD Ministerial conference to be held for the first time in Asia during the last 10 years and furthermore, it checks the future of the Internet and will present its vision of a point of time when the new Internet begins to spread.
Our country rushed into its attraction race late, but thanks to the prevailing view of balance inducement between regions our country was able to succeed in attracting it as our IT field's successful policy experience is assessed positively.
Through this Meeting, our country expects that this OECD ICT Ministerial Meeting would serve as an impetus for us to be able to play an initiative role in staple discussions regarding telecommunication such as Internet plus beefing up IT field leadership. MIC plans to operate by composing its propulsion preparation team and an organizing committee for its successful hosting.
Q: Today when the world greets a global age, we believe that Korea's IT also must boost its phase while looking the world. Do you have any plans to boost Korea's IT phase even higher
A: In today's global age, one benefit is not restricted to any one country, but the entire world comes to share it. This is even more strengthened by interacting with IT. Accordingly, Korea needs to play a befitting role for an IT Power in the IT industry. With the selection of Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon from South Korea as the 8th UN Secretary General as an impetus, MIC will support informatization projects about developing IT countries by teaming up with the UN plus reinforcing IT governmental development assistance (ODA) and IT specialist invitation training to Korea.
By modeling systematically IT policy success experience such as e-government, among others, our MIC will push ahead actively to provide developing countries with such experiences.
Q: IT industry is being assessed as a next-generation growth engine industry. Thereupon, Korea's MIC embarked upon IT industry activation through the socalled IT839 policy. How do you assess the outcomes of IT839 strategy
A: As our economy's growth potential is worried since the 2000s, IT839 strategy has been followed from February 2004 as an IT industry development vision to enter a national income US$20,000 age.
As a result, Korea came to prepare a substantial turning point to usher global IT market, escaping from an advanced country pursuit-type development model in the past. Korea succeeded in WiBro and DMB technology development and international standardization for the first time in the world plus securing an initiative for cutting-edge IT technology such as next-generation mobile communication and mobile broadcasting.
In addition by pushing ahead effective R&D policy, we have narrowed the technology gap with the United States from 2.6 years in past 2003 to 1.6 years today.
From this year among others, from commercialization foundation construction stage like technology development and business provider permission will be converted to full-scale commercialization stage.
Provided our IT 839 strategy is driven forward as planned in the years ahead, I firmly believe that this IT 839 strategy will upgrade our IT industry one notch higher and create nextgeneration growth engine by creating new market without any competitors and by preoccupying the market.
Q: We understand that your interest in the software industry is very high. How do you see Korea's possibility in the software field
A: In a nutshell, software is the future core of all sorts of industry.
To make a national income US$30,000 age, we have to challenge the software industry. I believe that this is a task for us to have to overcome by all means.
It will be not easy because some multinational corporations have a monopoly on the world market, but since software fits well with young people, I believe that if we utilize the latent power of the best IT infrastructure in the world, Korea will be able to make a new myth following manufacturing.
Imbedded software, in particular, is a very important field in which software plays the core infrastructure role of the Ubiquitous era. Korea has equipped with competitiveness in manufacturing field to serve as a demand base for it, has edges in this field.
What's more, digital content fields such as online games also has a high possibility for Korea according to convergence trends. Digital content demand of a new platform base are expected to be on the rise and I expect that if we can begin new services like WiBro and DMB for the first time in the world, it will be favorable in occupying the market.
