5G subscribers surpass 5 million in just 10 months since commercialization
Leading the global market, including 1st and 3rd place in 5G terminals and equipment
The 3rd 5G+ Strategy Committee meeting will be held on the 8th.


April 3, 2020 marks exactly one year since the world's first 5G commercial service launched.

We will comprehensively review the path our country has taken over the past few years to foster the 5G ecosystem and reflect on the future.


Things we did before 5G commercialization
The government established a hyper-connected intelligent network strategy in late 2017 with the goal of commercializing 5G for the first time in the world, and unveiled the world's first 5G pilot service at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February 2018.

In June 2018, the frequency auction was held one year ahead of schedule to facilitate the early construction of 5G infrastructure, and the system related to joint construction and utilization of essential facilities was improved to reduce duplicate investments by telecommunications companies.

In August 2018, we established technical standards for wireless equipment for radio certification and radio station licensing/inspection required for the introduction of 5G terminals and wireless network construction, operated a 5G experience center at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, and conducted radio certification for 5G equipment and terminals in October.

On December 1, 2018, the world's first 5G radio wave was launched and a mobile router-based B2B commercial service was launched. On April 3, 2019, the world's first smartphone-based 5G service was commercialized.

On April 8, 2019, the '5G+ Strategy' was announced. To promote this strategy, the '5G+ Strategy Committee' was formed in June 2019 and is currently in operation, with participation from relevant ministries, private industry, and experts.

The government is currently pursuing around ten follow-up policies, including the Content Industry Three Innovation Strategies (September 2019), the 5G+ Core Service Convergence Security Reinforcement Plan (October 2019), the 5G-Based Smart Factory Advancement Strategy (October 2019), and the 5G+ Spectrum Plan (December 2019), to systematically foster 15 major 5G+ strategic industries.


Major achievements after 5G commercialization
The number of domestic 5G subscribers exceeded 5 million in just 10 months since commercialization, and 5G base stations have been installed in approximately 109,000 locations across 85 cities nationwide.

Since the commercialization of smartphone-based 5G services and the launch of 5G terminals, Samsung Electronics has ranked first in the world in 5G smartphone market share and also ranked third in the global 5G equipment market, changing the existing structure of the three major telecommunications equipment companies (Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia).

As telecommunication companies expand their network investments due to the commercialization of 5G, sales and operating profits of related small and medium-sized enterprises also increased.

A parent company that manufactures 5G base station equipment developed a massive MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) device, and recorded sales of 733 billion won and operating profit of 161.3 billion won in 2019, a 247% increase compared to 2018.

Gwang SongThe parent company that manufactures receivers also supplies 5G equipment to companies such as Samsung Electronics, Huawei, and Ericsson, recording sales of KRW 210.5 billion, up 258% from 2018, and operating profit of KRW 58.8 billion, up 294%.

A startup producing 3D VR content recorded sales of 5 billion won, a 178% increase from 2018, thanks to the commercialization of 5G and overseas expansion in partnership with telecommunication companies.

International cooperation was also active.

The three major mobile carriers have formed technological partnerships with several other carriers around the world, including Germany's Deutsche Telekom. Manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics, have supplied 5G equipment to Japan's KDDI, Canada's Videotron, the US Cellular, and New Zealand's Spark. Several content providers have exported content to China Telecom and Hong Kong Telecom.

Governments and telecommunications companies from around the world, including the OECD, the World Bank, Argentina, and AT&T of the United States, visited Korea to learn about 5G commercialization know-how. Our country also shared its experiences with the world by hosting the Asia-Pacific 5G CEO Summit (May 2019) and the 5G Vertical Summit 2019 (December 2019).

Government support was also consistent.

In May 2019, the government selected three universities (Korea University-Smart Factory, KAIST-Smart City, Chonnam National University-Energy) to establish convergence security graduate schools, focusing on the five key 5G+ service areas, to foster core convergence security talent.

In June 2019, the government built and opened the vehicle-only communication (WAVE) and 5G communication infrastructure in Sangam, Seoul, to support the development of next-generation cooperative intelligent transportation systems (C-ITS) and autonomous cooperative driving technologies in the private sector, and piloted autonomous shuttles in Pangyo. Additionally, 5G smart factories were distributed to three small and medium-sized enterprises.

In July 2019, the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) began providing an internationally accredited certification service to domestic 5G terminal manufacturers to shorten the terminal development period and reduce certification costs by obtaining international certification without going overseas for the development of next-generation smartphones.

Through the 5G content flagship project, we supported the production of 28 leading projects in five major fields of realistic content (realistic media, realistic communication, realistic life, industrial convergence, and public service), created a fund (KRW 30 billion) to support the growth of start-up companies, and built 5G content experience centers in the US (LA) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) to supply 5G content overseas.


For the second anniversary of successful 5G commercialization
The government has invested approximately 340 billion won, including approximately 23 billion won in a supplementary budget, since immediately after the commercialization of 5G, and plans to invest 650 billion won this year, an 87% increase.

To encourage private investment in 5G, the government is promoting a two-year tax credit for 5G network investment starting in 2019. Starting this year, the tax credit rate (metropolitan area) and target (non-metropolitan area) will be expanded.

In the case of tax deduction, the tax deduction rate for investment in the metropolitan area will be increased from 1% to 2% from January 1, 2020. It is being expanded to the level of implementation, and on February 11, construction costs were added to the non-metropolitan area investment tax deduction target.

In December 2019, the company announced and is currently promoting the '5G+ Spectrum Plan', which will approximately double the 5G frequency bandwidth (2,680 MHz → 5,320 MHz) by 2026.

Additionally, by designating an ICT regulatory sandbox for unmanned base station remote power management systems, it is expected that base station maintenance costs will be reduced.

While development of 5G-related products and equipment is active, data transmission and reception speeds that consumers can actually feel have not yet been achieved, and the lack of killer content that would justify the use of 5G remains a challenge.

Accordingly, the government plans to hold the 3rd 5G+ Strategy Committee on the 8th to review the 2020 implementation plan for the 5G+ strategy and accelerate the creation of results.