April 25, 2001	atimes.com

The Koreas Seoul not resting on IT laurels SEOUL - South Korea is the most-wired country in Asia in terms of the number of its people with access to the Internet, but is not about to rest on that achievement. The government on Tuesday decided to offer 300 billion won (US$229.2 million) in assistance for research and development (R&D) in the information technology industry, and announced other initiatives. The decision on new R&D funding was made in a meeting of economic ministers presided over by Deputy Prime Minister Jin Nyum to discuss how to allocate the 1.3 trillion won contributed by companies which won licenses to operate IMT-2000 next-generation mobile communications. The ministers also decided to allocate 300 billion won to help train information technology experts, 100 billion won to high-tech start-ups and an equal amount to digitalize 10,000 small and medium-sized firms. Companies specializing in biotechnology and nanotechnology will also receive 100 billion won. In other related developments: * Large apartment complexes will be required to install high-speed information and communication networks, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation said on Tuesday. The ministry said it will revise residential housing construction regulations following approval from the cabinet and President Kim Dae-jung and begin implementation early next month. Under the revised regulations, builders of large apartment complexes will be required to install information and communication networks for residents, so they no longer have to pay individually for access to networks. But each apartment owner will have to pay around 200,000 won for the communication networks. * The government is considering allowing foreign currency transactions on the Internet, a Ministry of Finance and Economy official said on Tuesday. The Ministry of Finance and Economy will soon hold seminars attended by representatives of banks, insurance companies, securities and information technology firms to discuss permitting private cyber trading of foreign currencies, the official said. The ministry has already entrusted the Korea Institute of Finance to research the merits and demerits of cyber trading of foreign currencies. "Our policy is not to allow extensive cyber trading of foreign currencies because it is difficult to monitor, and there is the possibility of companies misusing information collected from individual cyber traders," the official said. The ministry is considering allowing foreign currency trading online through financial institutions in the initial stage before fully permitting cyber transactions by private individuals, the official said. * President Kim Dae-jung said South Korea will play a leading role in a cyber trade network which will encompass Singapore, China and other East Asian nations. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the World Trade Centers Association spring meeting in Seoul, Kim made the pledge, predicting that in South Korea cyber trade would increase from the current 5 percent of all trading to 30 percent in 2004. He said that South Korea is improving cyber trade-related laws to increase cyber trade, while expanding its cyber trade infrastructure. (Asia Pulse)

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