Information communications and telecommunications

From the late 1990s until about 2007, the information communications and telecommunications (ICT) sector in South Korea showed an extraordinary growth rate of over 25 per cent with ICT exports increasing to 28.6 per cent in 2002. The success of the South Korean ICT industry, despite the global economic slowdown of the late 1990s, is directly attributable to the amount of investment that was injected into research and development (R&D), innovation and resultant patenting. The UK and USA continue to be far more innovative in the creative industries and were able to invent, innovate technologically more than East Asian countries. The Korean Institute for Electronic Commerce, which was building the Republic of Korea (ROK) as the Asian e-hub, pursued co-operation with Europe and North America. Related to new display technology, another area of ICT that was pioneered in the UK and US is telematics, which is also a part of the automotive industry and has been developing in South Korea.