Site Map

BUYUSA.GOV -- U.S. Commercial Service

AsiaNow

Radio Frequency Identification Technology-ROK

Radio Frequency Identification Technology

Republic of Korea

Overview

2004 2005 2006 (estimated)

Total Market Size 146.1 209.5 346.4

Total Local Production 145.0 207.4 334.5

Total Korean Exports 8.3 8.4 16.8

Total Imports into Korea 9.4 10.5 28.7

(Unit: USD million)

[Source: The above statistics are unofficial estimates by Commercial Service Korea.]

[ USD1= 1,200 Won (2004), 1,100 Won (2005), 950 Won (2006) ]

There is strong demand in the Korean market for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology that includes various new applications in supply chain management, security, transportation and the healthcare industry.

As a result, the Korean Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) plans to encourage RFID technology development and commercialization throughout Korea. MIC also forecasts that the development of new devices and related services and applications to commercialize RFID technology, will generate more than 50 percent growth over the next few years. RFID pilot projects conducted by the Korean government, including MIC and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE), are expected to have large ripple effect across industries and create even more demand for new technologies for various services.

MIC aims to encourage standards development in technologies of spectrum distribution and transmission, RFID code identification, code search engines, middleware software and mobile RFID applications. Global companies, including, HP, IBM and Motorola as well as other major firms are also establishing Research & Development (R&D) centers to collaborate with local research institutes related to ubiquitous communication technologies and RFID applications development. Furthermore, given Korea’s advanced wireless/ wireline telecom infrastructure, early adopters of new technologies and various government matching funds are attracting multinational companies’ investment in R&D for new technologies.

Currently RFID use in Korea is expanding and mobile RFID is expected to contribute significantly to broaden the commercial use of RFID technology in the Business to Consumer (B2C) sector as well as in B2B. RFID applications will be embedded in mobile phones/devices and operate on existing mobile or wireless broadband network to read RFID tag information and create new information. Many analysts believe that RFID has the potential to revolutionize a wide variety of industries, especially on the supply side. Areas such as retail, manufacturing, logistics, inventory management and shipment tracking stand ready to save billions of dollars if cost effective RFID solutions can be developed. The potential for RFID is so great that some analysts even predict that the new technology will eventually replace traditional bar code scanning.

The primary Korean end uses of RFID technology are in retail, manufacturing, distribution, public transportation systems, environment, healthcare and livestock. Retail stores can use RFID to manage product inventory, and automatically re-order supplies of dwindling products. The technology can also replace bar code scanning in the final purchase of products by customers. Manufacturing and distribution benefit by using RFID to control items on assembly lines and track and identify shipments. Public mass transportation systems can use RFID as a fast and convenient way for passengers to pay fares or track and maintain effective use of rail cars. RFID can be used in the livestock industry to locate and control animals and the final product.

Competition in Korea’s IT market is extremely fierce and only firms that can provide affordable solutions and up-to-date technology achieve success. Although the Korean government seeks to become the chief exporter of RFID technology, they are still a few years behind other RFID developers abroad in the technologies including, RFID tag, antenna, sensor node and reader. Given the enormous growth potential of the global RFID market, and the substantial savings and additional revenue for retailers and supply side firms, Korea’s relative lack of R&D creates strong opportunities for US firms to enter the market.

Best Prospects/Services

RFID Technology and Solutions

- RFID R&D

Opportunities

In order to enhance global competitiveness and become a leader in the Information Technology market, MIC has declared RFID an important technology of the future and plans to aggressively pursue its development, along with a host of other new technologies. MIC is expected to spend USD 140 million to develop and commercialize core technologies and to create a Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) for RFID technology by 2010. USD 71 million will be allocated for research and development and USD 55 million will be reserved for pilot projects. Korean public and private sectors are expected to invest approximately USD 140 million in 2007 alone in RFID and USN projects.

MOCIE is taking the lead in the development of RFID systems in Supply Chain Management (SCM) and distribution. MIC will focus on advanced technology development for RFID/Ubiquitous Sensor Network (UNS) deployment, excluding SCM and distribution.

The Korean government is looking for offshore investment in R&D. MIC’s RFID development plan encourages private Korean companies to invest in RFID technology and to strengthen cost competitiveness. US technology players are already setting up RFID R&D centers in Seoul, and several Korean firms, including LG, Hyundai, and Samsung, have plans to collaborate with U.S. firms on RFID development. There will be strong market opportunities for U.S. suppliers of RFID equipment and solutions over the next several years.

Resources

Trade Shows

The 20th Solution & Contents Exhibition of Korea (Jun 20-23, 2007)

http://www.sek.co.kr

SecurityWorld Expo 2007 (Jun 27-29, 2007)

http://www.secuexpo.com

CardTech Korea & RFID World 2007 (Jul 11-13, 2007)

www.cardtechkorea.com

2007 IT EXPO BUSAN (Sep 12-15, 2007)

http://www.itexpo.or.kr

KES 2007 (Oct 9-13, 2007)

http://www.kes.org