The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Only 2.5% of South Korean firms utilize AI: report

By Kim Byung-wook

Published : Feb. 7, 2021 - 15:51

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(The National Information Society Agency) (The National Information Society Agency)
South Korean companies have become familiar with using mobile devices in their businesses, but only a handful of them are utilizing new information and communication technologies including artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing.

According to “2020 Yearbook of Information Society Statistics” released Sunday by the National Information Society Agency, as of December 2019, 58.3 percent of 222,218 private companies with 10 or more employees in Korea used mobile devices in running their businesses, but only 2.5 percent of them used AI technology or services.

Of all companies, 70.3 percent of them were aware of AI capabilities, but didn’t use them. The remaining 27.2 percent said they neither used nor were familiar with AI.

The situation was similar in other technologies. Of all companies, 8.6 percent of them used big data technology or services, while 14.3 percent of them utilized Internet of Things devices or services. Cloud computing technology showed the highest utilization rate, with 23.5 percent of companies using it.

The utilization rate of 5G was extremely low, with just 1.1 percent of companies used 5G technology. Only 2.8 percent of companies said they had plans to utilize the 5G technology within three years, while 62.2 percent said they didn’t have any plans, though they were aware of the technology. The rest of 33.9 percent said they don’t know how to use the 5G technology.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)