Following last year, 5G, IoT, and blockchain deserve attention.
Special circumstances abroad, such as those in North Korea and China, must be taken into consideration.

The 10 Major ICT Issues announced by the Information and Communications Technology Promotion Center since 2008 are now in their 11th year.

The "2019 ICT Top 10 Issues," which forecasts key issues expected to emerge in the domestic ICT industry in 2019 and 2020, was compiled based on a survey of 1,088 ICT industry professionals conducted from July to October of this year.

If the top 10 ICT issues of 2018 were AI, self-driving cars, IoT, cybersecurity, digital healthcare, augmented reality, smart factories, fintech, blockchain, and 5G, the top 10 ICT issues of 2019 were 5G, ICT regulatory reform, edge computing and AI semiconductors, next-generation mobility, blockchain, automation and intelligence, eco-friendly ICT, next-generation devices, inter-Korean ICT exchange and cooperation, and the rise of China.


1. Commercialization of 5G services and the emergence of new convergence services.
5G continued to be a key ICT issue in 2019, following its success in 2018. Countries around the world have already begun competing on standardization, frequency allocation, and network construction, deeming 2019 the first year of 5G commercialization.

5G is characterized by ultra-high speed, hyper-connectivity, and ultra-low latency. Of these, ultra-high speed is the most important. The initial killer content for 5G services is likely to be immersive media powered by ultra-high-speed communications. Korea's three major mobile carriers are already actively adopting VR into their services.

Furthermore, the introduction of 5G network slicing technology will likely spark a debate over the easing of 5G network neutrality. Network slicing technology transforms a single physical network into multiple logically separate virtual networks. The idea is to enable communications services to be differentiated, much like dedicated lanes on roads.

Those in favor argue that network slicing should be recognized as a managed service, an exception to network neutrality, because not all services can be provided in the same manner, while those against argue that easing network neutrality will exacerbate the gap between the rich and the poor in the CP industry, ultimately leading to increased burden on consumers.


2. Promoting ICT regulatory reform to accelerate the Fourth Industrial Revolution
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a technological revolution that will fundamentally transform our lives. To capitalize on this new trend, we must break down past regulations. Accordingly, the government plans to actively pursue ICT regulatory reform, which is expected to revitalize new convergence services in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Beginning in the first half of 2019, new convergence services will be tested in accordance with the Information and Communications Network Convergence Act, the Industrial Convergence Promotion Act, and the Regulatory Free Zone Act. These laws would allow businesses and local governments to request temporary exemptions from regulations or regulatory exceptions for demonstration purposes.

Among OECD countries, South Korea's data utilization rate remains among the lowest. In response, the government revised the Personal Information Protection Act, the Information and Communications Network Act, and the Credit Information Act—known as the "three personal information protection laws"—in 2019 to revitalize the data economy.

As companies expand their scope for utilizing personal information, their protection capabilities will also be strengthened. The government plans to elevate the Personal Information Protection Commission, currently a committee, to a central administrative agency under the Prime Minister, establishing it as a control tower for personal information protection. Furthermore, the concepts of pseudonymized and anonymous information will be clarified. Anonymized information will be made available without consent, and the scope of use and provision of pseudonymized information will be regulated by law. Furthermore, the level of personal information protection will be strengthened to the level of the EU GDPR.


3. Expanding the adoption of edge computing and intelligent (AI) semiconductors.
The widespread adoption of IoT is accelerating the growth of edge computing and AI semiconductors. HP has expanded its investment in edge computing, and Samsung has declared AI-centric management. Furthermore, SK Telecom announced a partnership with Xilinx to develop AI accelerators, and a rush to develop AI semiconductors continues in China.

Edge computing in the IoT era has the advantages of reducing the load on cloud cores, enabling real-time, low-latency data processing, and maintaining data confidentiality. Accordingly, with the commercialization of 5G services, domestic telecommunications companies and cloud providers will begin investing in edge computing.

As demand for edge computing grows, demand for AI semiconductors is expected to grow as well. The AI semiconductor market will gradually shift from learning and server-use to inference and edge-use.


4. Next-generation mobility, from imagination to reality
Next-generation mobility technologies, including electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, connected cars, and ride-sharing, will begin to be commercialized in earnest.

Just as albums are transitioning to music and broadcasts to streaming, the concept of car ownership will also shift to car sharing. This marks the dawn of the era of cars as a service, or MaaS (Mobility as a Service). Heralding this beginning are robo-taxi vehicles, scheduled to be launched starting in 2019. UBS projects that the global robo-taxi market will reach 26 million units by 2030, with robo-taxi vehicles accounting for 12% of all new vehicles released.

The popularization of electric vehicles will likely arrive sooner than initially anticipated. While fossil fuel vehicles have been significantly impacted by environmental regulations and rising oil prices, electric vehicles are not affected. Furthermore, electric vehicle prices are steadily declining, and the government is providing subsidies for electric vehicle purchases to expand their adoption. Charging stations, previously the biggest obstacle to electric vehicle purchases, are also continuing to expand.


5. Blockchain Spreads into Non-Financial Sectors
Blockchain is a new record-keeping revolution that builds trust by ensuring openness and transparency of information. The reason blockchain has not been widely adopted so far is because few people have experienced blockchain services. Furthermore, blockchain is still an immature technology and not a panacea. Various data standardization and regulatory improvements must also be implemented.

2019 will be the first year in which blockchain services will expand beyond existing limitations and become tangible and practical for the public. Public blockchain pilot projects will increase from six this year to twelve next year. Blockchain technology will be utilized in real estate transactions, livestock product traceability, personal customs clearance, online voting, maritime logistics, and international document distribution.

The domestic blockchain ecosystem will expand from its focus on the financial sector and startups to encompass non-financial sectors, large corporations, the government, and local governments. IDC projects that the non-financial sector will account for 64% of the global blockchain market by 2022.


6. Increased adoption of automation and intelligence technologies across all industries.
Due to shorter working hours and increased minimum wages, automation and intelligent technologies are expected to expand, focusing on simple, repetitive tasks. Automation and human resource replacement driven by technological innovation are inevitable trends of the times.

2019 will mark the full-scale adoption of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology in Korea. RPA is a technology that automates repetitive human tasks using robotic software. Think of it as extending Excel's macro functionality across the office. According to Gartner, 85% of large corporations with more than 10,000 employees are expected to adopt RPA by the end of 2022.

Furthermore, to reduce costs, unmanned stores and kiosks (automated payment machines) will rapidly expand in the domestic hospitality industry. Amazon Go, the unmanned convenience store in the US, began operating officially in January of this year and plans to expand to 3,000 stores by 2021. Unmanned stores are also rapidly increasing in China and Japan.

Domestic fast food franchises have already installed kiosks in about half of their stores. Kiosks, once primarily used in large establishments, are now expected to be adopted by smaller businesses as well. Study cafes, coin-operated karaoke rooms, unmanned hotels, and unmanned parking lots are already actively utilizing kiosks.


7. Eco-friendly ICT to respond to climate change and environmental pollution
Climate change and environmental pollution are increasing the frequency of extreme weather events around the globe, causing loss of life and property. This spring, unprecedented amounts of fine dust and ultrafine dust blanketed the Korean Peninsula. Last summer, we experienced a record-breaking heat wave for the first time in 111 years.

Green IT is a movement to improve the environment by conserving resources and energy through ICT. Smart buildings are a prime example of environmental improvement through ICT. Buildings account for a significant portion of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, around 30%. The government is actively promoting policies to accelerate the adoption of zero-energy buildings.
ICT is an essential element in implementing smart buildings. Advances in IoT and cloud technologies have reduced construction costs. The building industry also has significant growth potential due to automation.

Starting in 2018, ICT will begin to be actively utilized to reduce air pollution and fine dust. As the fine dust problem worsens, the shortage and low accuracy of fine dust measurement stations are becoming a major issue. In Seoul alone, a single measurement station covers an area equivalent to 2,000 soccer fields. Furthermore, the sources and concentrations of fine dust vary by region.

Accordingly, the ICT industry is exploring ways to measure fine dust using existing assets. KT is installing fine dust measuring devices in telephone exchanges and public telephones, while SK Telecom is installing them in stores and Yakult carts to provide real-time information on fine dust levels.


8. Next-generation smart device innovation
Technological innovations are increasing expectations for the launch of next-generation smart devices.

The saturation of the smartphone market has slowed corporate growth, and the upward standardization of technology has limited hardware advancements. The market excitement surrounding new products, such as the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010, is no longer there.

Foldable smartphones are one of the products expected to generate renewed excitement in the market. They offer the portability of a smartphone with the screen size of a tablet. 2019 will mark the first year of commercialization of flexible display devices, led by foldable smartphones. JP Morgan predicts that foldable smartphones will account for 4.6% of the global smartphone market in terms of shipments and 17% of revenue by 2022.

Furthermore, 2020 will usher in a full-fledged era of competition among augmented reality (AR) smart glasses. AR glasses are expected to feature cameras, AR, and AI assistant functions, and feature a voice/image recognition UI that eliminates the need for finger touches. While Apple is expected to release AR glasses in 2020, the timing of Google and Samsung's AR releases will be crucial.


9. Expanding Inter-Korean ICT Exchange and Cooperation
2018 was a historic year, with three inter-Korean summits and one North Korea-US summit. These improvements in inter-Korean relations have raised expectations for peace on the Korean Peninsula and for inter-Korean economic cooperation.

There are three scenarios that could arise from improved inter-Korean relations: continued military confrontation, peace settlement, and unification. UBS predicts that if unification is achieved, North Korea's per capita GDP will increase by 8 to 24 times over the next 20 years.

The most promising area for inter-Korean ICT cooperation will be utilizing North Korea's software and content workforce. North Korea is the only Asian country with a per capita income of less than $3,000 with a secondary education enrollment rate of over 90%.

North Korea produces 10,000 ICT professionals annually, and its cumulative workforce is estimated at 170,000. However, it remains uncertain whether these individuals possess the ICT skills South Korea desires and whether they can seamlessly integrate with South Korean talent.

North Korea's most pressing problem is its lack of infrastructure. Following roads and railways, the telecommunications service industry is likely to be the next major candidate for infrastructure economic cooperation. Unlike the Kim Jong-il era, the Kim Jong-un regime is promoting telecommunications services as a means of earning dollars.

To bridge the gap between the people of the North and South, it is necessary to eliminate the information gap. Therefore, cooperation in telecommunications service infrastructure will contribute to North Korea's economic growth, accelerate unification, and help reduce unification costs.

Although cooperation in telecommunications service infrastructure could be approached from the perspective of market diversification, considering North Korea's economic power, its economic feasibility and marketability are not considered to be very high.


10. Chinese ICT: From Potential to Real Threat
In the 2000s, China was a strategic production base and sales market for domestic companies, but in the 2010s, it grew into a competitor in the global market.

Looking at the trends in the global market share of Korea's main ICT export items between Korea and China, smartphones and large LCD panels were already overtaken by China in 2017, and only memory semiconductors maintain an overwhelming lead.

Looking at the technological levels of Korea and China in key areas of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Korea is ahead of China only in IoT, and is lagging behind in all other areas.

Starting in 2019, China will begin producing memory semiconductors domestically. For the time being, the technological gap will have little impact on the market, but we cannot afford to let our guard down.

For OLED displays, IHS Markit predicts that China will account for 34% of global OLED production in 2022.

As the Trump administration in the U.S. begins to seriously contain China, the Korea International Trade Association and the Korea Information Society Development Institute report that the impact of the U.S.-China trade dispute on Korea's ICT industry will be limited.


In summary
Wayne Gretzky is arguably the greatest player in American ice hockey history. Gretzky wasn't the most physically gifted player. How did he achieve such an overwhelming lead in NHL all-time points, 1,000 points ahead of the next-best player?

When asked about the secret to his success, Gretzky said, "I skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been."

Let's apply this statement to our country's ICT industry.

Globally, South Korea is an unremarkable country, lacking a large market or abundant resources. Therefore, like Gretzky, South Korea must identify promising future technologies and secure their capabilities to take the lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.