South Korea Pledges Huge Investment to IoT and Connected Transport

South Korea on March 25 announced that it will invest the equivalent of $5 billion by 2020 into growing the nations IoT industry, with almost $1 billion pledged by the end of 2015.

A coalition of several governmental agencies and ministries together made the announcement. The money is earmarked for development as follows: $70 million for IoT; $25.5 million for smart cars; $63 million for robots; $89 million for smart wearables; $70 million on its 5G networks; and $55 million on semiconductors. Forward-thinking technology like convergence materials will get priority. Also named was an intriguing fish detection drone program, funded with a goal of a 2017 launch.

The major push into M2M comes out of fears that the rise of China will supplant Korea’s powerful semiconductor and automobile industries on the global stage. 

“We hope our new plan will bring life into the South Korean economy,” said a ministry spokesperson.

This funding boost is just the latest M2M news from Asia in recent weeks. China, India and Japan are all investing heavily in the IoT as well, and even Australia is positioning itself as a powerhouse in global M2M technology development.

It’s fair to say that western economies should be looking over their shoulders. Moves like this are not to be underestimated.