The Ministry of Science and ICT held a '5G Small-Medium Enterprise Roundtable' following last week's meeting with the CEOs of the three telecommunications companies, and visited 'win-win cooperation sites between large and small-medium enterprises,' recognizing the growing importance of small-medium enterprises' role in securing a global market position in fifth-generation mobile communications (5G).

This roundtable was organized to listen to voices from the 5G industry field and to fully launch win-win cooperation between large and small-medium 5G enterprises, with the participation of approximately 10 small-medium enterprises related to 5G components, equipment, and services, as well as representatives from the three telecommunications companies.

Minister Yoo Young-min emphasized that to discover innovative services through 5G and pioneer new markets, open communication among all members of the 5G industry must be prioritized above all, and directly proposed a roundtable discussion in a free dialogue format.

In the opening remarks of the roundtable, the government stated that it is focusing on the early construction of 5G networks, a core foundation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the world's first 5G commercialization in March 2019, and announced plans to organize and operate the '5G Early Commercialization Promotion Task Force' to strengthen on-site communication with equipment, terminal, and service companies related to 5G, as well as telecommunications operators.

Furthermore, the government emphasized expectations that diverse service industries will develop based on 5G, and that the growth of these service industries will create a virtuous cycle leading to hardware (HW) industries such as small cell base stations, wearables, and autonomous vehicles.

Small-medium enterprise representatives attending the roundtable shared difficulties experienced in their business operations and requested active cooperation from telecommunications companies and policy support from the government to enable small-medium enterprises to grow together.

During a visit to a win-win cooperation site between large and small-medium 5G enterprises (SKT T Open Lab), the ministry shared cases of technology and infrastructure cooperation and sought various cooperation measures to facilitate the expansion of such win-win cooperation ecosystems.

Minister Yoo Young-min of the Ministry of Science and ICT emphasized, "For Korea to lead the global 5G market, the role of small-medium enterprises that have competitive advantages in various fields such as small cell base stations and repeaters is very important," and stated, "Based on win-win cooperation between large and small-medium enterprises, we will drive growth in the 5G market and small-medium enterprises, while making efforts to expand employment, which is the foundation of our economy and the basis of individual livelihoods."