South Korea also eyes 'ICBM'

By Yoon Sung-won

Though it may sound a bit strange, both Koreas are aggressively pushing for ICBMs now.

For North Korea, the acronym refers to intercontinental ballistic missiles. In contrast, South Korea is expediting the introduction of the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, big data and mobile (ICBM) technologies to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, a term first used during the World Economic Forum in 2016, refers to dramatic changes on the industrial landscape fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) and ICBM technologies.

In the public sector, the Ministry of Science and ICT is heading the Moon Jae-in administration's drive to introduce AI and ICBM technologies to boost industrial efficiency and create more good jobs.

The President has stressed that AI and ICBM technologies should be introduced in a way that promotes human lives and does not deprive workers of their jobs.

Upon his inauguration in July, Science and ICT Minister You Young-min pledged to foster experts in AI and ICBM technologies who can lead industrial innovations while boosting applications of such technologies in the public sector such as national defense and education. You said the ministry will play the role of "enabler" in the nation's Fourth Industrial Revolution.

"We will be able to create better job opportunities through systematic cooperation between the public and the private sectors," You said in a recent forum in Seoul.

"Science and information and communication technologies are the foundation of such changes in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and are not separate but closely interconnected as one."

The presidential committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution is also tasked with supporting the ministry's drive for national technological innovation. The committee led by veteran high-tech entrepreneur Chang Byung-gyu started operations, Oct. 12, as one of Moon's presidential pledges.

AI and ICBM

AI is widely considered to take center stage in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as it may improve industries, not just in manufacturing, but also in research and development to accelerate technological advancement to an unprecedented level.

However, AI needs massive computing power and an extensive database, which are only achievable through IoT, cloud computing, big data analysis and a high-speed mobile network environment.

IoT refers to the hyper-connected environment where everything _ not just computers and mobile devices but also buildings, cars, home appliances and even living things ― are interconnected through networks.

IoT devices vary by different sizes and purposes. Large-sized IoT devices can be used for homes to physically control facilities such as heating and cooling as well as locking and unlocking doors and windows.

Small-sized IoT chips, which have low energy consumption and are inexpensive, can be applied to factory equipment and public utility facilities to ceaselessly monitor their condition and collect data remotely and economically.

Tapping into such extensive applications for IoT technologies, mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus are already pushing for partnerships with diverse businesses such as construction, healthcare, energy, finance and electronics.

Cloud computing refers to the technology that can connect physically far-off computing systems through networks to make them work as a single system. This technology enables analysis of a massive database, collected and compiled through IoT, at a speed that is impossible to reach on conventional computing systems.

With Korea's cloud computing service market rapidly growing to reach 1 trillion won last year, Naver has been at the forefront in the tough competition with global giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and IBM.

The company established the Naver Business Platform as a subsidiary to provide its Naver Cloud Platform for business-to-business (B2B) services. KT and LG CNS are also pushing for B2B cloud services businesses based on cloud data centers they have built nationwide.

Naturally, securing, processing and using big data properly will also be the key to success in these industries.

According to the National Information Society Agency (NISA), Korea's big data market will grow from around 260 billion won in 2015 to 1 trillion won by 2020.

Retail businesses are already using big data on consumer tastes to boost marketing activities and develop new products. Card companies are also analyzing big data to look into consumption patterns and read market trends.

Though the speed of hardware upgrades in smartphones has gradually been slowed down in recent years, progress is still being made in software services provided through high-performance mobile devices.

Naver, Kakao and e-commerce businesses are expanding shopping and online-to-offline services on mobile devices, changing the way consumers buy not just actual products but also services such as getting a call taxi, making reservation for a parking lot space or arranging home cleaning.

Need for deregulation

Korea's introduction of ICBM technologies, however, has remained inadequate so far. According to NISA, only 4.3 percent of Korean enterprises were using big data at the end of 2015.

Both the public and private sector have blamed the government for a lack of legal support for technological innovation.

Rep. Shin Yong-hyun of the minor opposition People's Party urged the government to deregulate the new growth industries. She said the law should allow everything to foster new growth industries based on technologies such as AI and big data, except for areas that should be banned.

"Advanced countries such as Britain and Japan have already introduced the regulatory sandbox policy to ease regulations on new industries for specific time and space," Shin said in a forum at the National Assembly, Sept. 19. "China has become the world's leader in the drone and mobile payment service industries on the back of supportive policy programs. We need to follow their lead to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution."