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| Huawei plans to open its world's first 5G open lab in Seoul this week, but will not hold a media event amid U.S. sanctions. / Reuters-Yonhap |
By Jun Ji-hye
Huawei has decided to substantially scale down marketing and publicity activities for the opening of its first fifth-generation (5G) open lab in Seoul amid the increasing U.S. pressure on Korea to join its anti-Huawei campaign.
The Chinese tech giant, which will open the 5G open lab in central Seoul on Thursday, had planned originally to hold a press conference on the eve of the opening ceremony for a large marketing campaign. But the firm decided recently to cancel the media event.
The opening ceremony is also expected to be low-key as no Korean government officials or politicians will participate amid the prolonged trade war between Washington and Beijing.
"We will open the 5G open lab as planned, but there will be no media event," a Huawei official said. "The lab will offer medium-sized and small enterprises as well as startups opportunities to develop and test their systems and services in the 5G environment."
Earlier this year, Huawei announced a plan to establish 5G open labs in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Among the three regions, the Chinese firm decided to open the first lab in Seoul as Korea, which commercialized the world's first 5G network services in April, was considered an optimal location for the firm to expand its 5G-related business.
But Huawei has faced a crisis after the Donald Trump administration effectively barred U.S. firms from selling components and software to the Chinese tech giant, citing security concerns.
The U.S. has also been pressuring Korea through various diplomatic channels to boycott the Chinese firm at a time when other U.S. allies including Japan have sided with Washington.
The Chinese firm's decision not to hold the media event for the opening of its Seoul lab was construed as its effort to prevent its Korean partner companies from being misunderstood and suffering damage.
Several companies here that are in business relationships with Huawei have already seen a fall in their stock prices amid U.S. sanctions against the Chinese tech powerhouse.
"Huawei will have no choice but to be cautious as a media event at this time could only lead to negative publicity," said an official from a telecom firm in Seoul, asking not to be named.
The Ministry of Science and ICT also appears to have been put in an awkward position as it has no right to disapprove the opening of a laboratory of a private company.
