 |
| Police officers look at monitors at the 112 crime report center at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno, central Seoul in this file photo. / Courtesy of KT |
By Kim Tae-jong
Telecommunications giant KT has exported technology used for the nation's 112 crime reporting centers to Angola, the company said Wednesday.
It is the first time that the firm has sold the IT system and solutions to run an emergency call control center to a foreign country, and the deal is estimated at 41 billion won, according to KT.
"This is a cooperative project between the government and the private sector. The deal would be a fine example of achieving the government's ‘creative economy,'" an official from KT said.
A creative economy is one of the major goals that President Park Geun-hye wants to achieve over her five-year tenure. The concept is developing the economy through convergence between information technology and other businesses.
KT said the public security innovation project will help Angola's National Police Agency establish an emergency call control center, named the "113 Command & Control Center," by 2016 along with a Korean mid-sized firm.
The project also includes the installment of anti-crime surveillance cameras in Angola's capital Luanda and cameras to catch speeders on the roads.
"This project using our firm's state-of-art technology will help Angola's government update and enhance its system to maintain public order and security," the KT official said.
KT will also sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the cooperation of Korea's National Police Agency (NPA) so that the Angola's police can better learn from their Korean counterparts about the operation of the emergency call control center.
"We will invite officials from Angola's police agency or send our staff to the African country to share our experience and knowledge about the operation of the call center and its system after we sign a MOU with KT," an official from the NPA said.
KT will also seek similar business opportunities in Central and South America, Southeast Asia and other African countries by helping equip them with standardized security service programs and infrastructure involving its IT technology.
"Countries with relatively poor public security systems are expected to show interest in our business," another KT official said. "After the project with Angola, we believe we can also sign deals for similar projects with other African countries which face difficulty in economic growth due to poor public security, despite abundant natural resources."
