The Ministry of Science, Technology, Information and Communication of South Korea held a joint government-civilian “6G Strategy Meeting” on the 23rd and established the latest “6G R&D Action Plan.”

The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Science and Information and Communication Technology of South Korea. Representatives from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, the three major telecom operators, academia, etc., as well as the acting ambassador of the US Embassy in South Korea attended the meeting.

The official meeting briefing stated that the South Korean government plans to invest 220 billion won (approximately RMB 1.2 billion) in the development of 6G-related technologies in the next five years. The focus will be on three areas: ensuring a new generation of core technologies, striving to obtain technical standards and intellectual property advantages, and improving technological research and development and industrial development capabilities, and strive to make South Korea a high-level 6G technology powerhouse.

The briefing stated that at the South Korea-US summit held in May this year, the two countries reached consensus on 6G technology to establish a future-oriented partnership and expand joint research. As one of the follow-up measures of the talks, at this meeting, the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Planning and Evaluation signed a joint research agreement with the National Science Foundation, and plans to start 6G joint research this year.

The briefing stated that strategic cooperation with the high-tech United States will become a new opportunity for South Korea to enhance its international competitiveness. In the areas of 6G technical standards and spectrum resources, it also plans to promote cooperation with China and other countries.

The briefing stated that the cycle of mobile technology upgrades is usually about 10 years.  The commercialization of 6G is expected to be between 2028 and 2030.

Some analysts say that the Korean government’s policy focuses on supporting basic projects with long R&D cycles and low returns, as well as promoting international cooperation.

Not long ago, the South Korean government announced a plan to launch 14 low-Earth orbit communication satellites before 2031, making arrangements for 6G commercial use in advance.

LG Electronics recently announced that it would abandon its smartphone business and focus its resources on core areas such as 6G.