Korean Smart City Market to Be Developed on Component-Based Adoption in Consideration upon Cost-Efficiency

Seoul Korea, 30 March 2012 - Smart cities are currently being constructed in many cities all around the world and it continues to spread throughout many countries based on increase in the adoption of diverse smart solutions, while being progressed as a long-term movement with its ongoing deployment to urban construction or development projects.

In the midst of such a worldwide movement, Korea has been developing a smart city market under the name of U-City more actively than any other regions and countries. With Korean government’s strong leadership, revitalization of old downtown within Seoul as well as various projects associated to construction of local new cities continue to draw public attentions.

Reflecting on the current state, IDC Korea published a report on development and changes in regards to Korean Smart City Market titled 'Korea Smart Cities Market Adoption and Revolution: Struggling for Hitting Its Stride’ recently. IDC believes that this report is meaningful because it prepared the ground for a study on Korean smart city market by defining the concept of ‘smart city’, which was done for the first time in Korea, and by analyzing its concept in accordance with IDC’s global standard methodology.

First, the report compared the definition of Korean U-city to that of smart city which is based on IDC’s smart city framework. Then, it matched the concept of U-city with that of smart city in order to establish some definitive notions to be used for market analysis. Based on the data, current Korean market conditions and problems were addressed from different aspects such as technical and institutional aspects. Also, main projects that are already completed or ongoing were categorized by ordering organizations, contractors, progress status, features and etc. to look into Korean smart city market’s current status. In addition, an analysis on competitive dynamics was conducted by checking major players’ movements. Based on such analysis on the current conditions, the report suggests an outlook of the future progress of Korean smart city, and ends by adding guidance to the players that are currently doing business in the market.

“The current Korean smart city market, which has been started from U-City, is somehow under adjustments in terms of rapid market expansion due to the institutional, technical and cost-related issues” said Min Kim, Sr. market analyst, enterprise research group at IDC Korea. “Nonetheless, the continuous demand and activity for city development based on improvement of citizens’ convenience will drive sustainable projects”.

“In addition, there will be new movement to develop the project in more efficient ways; for example, focusing on city’s unique characteristics, adapting specific smart solutions by component to resolve any urgent tasks, or establishing a smart place aiming to build an intelligent space within the city” Min continued.

For more information about IDC's ‘Korea Smart Cities Market Adoption and Revolution: Struggling for Hitting Its Stride’ (#KR22011268), please contact IDC Sales at akwon@idc.com.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 100 countries. For more than 45 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

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