S.Korean gov't to invest $827 mn in cyber security sector by 2027

South Korea will invest 1.1 trillion won ($827.1 million) in the information security sector by 2027, nearly double its combined budget of 556.9 billion won over the past four years. 

The goal is to raise the scale of the domestic industry to 30 trillion won, produce at least one cyber security unicorn and set up a related fund worth 130 billion won.

The Ministry of Science and ICT on Tuesday announced these measures under a strategy to secure global competitiveness in the sector. A major project mentioned was the formation of a domestic security belt connecting the Songpa-gu district of Seoul, the nation's startup mecca Pangyo New Town in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province.

Other ventures included attraction of a global cybersecurity think tank to Songpa-gu, setup of a test bed, expansion of a training center for cyberattacks and defense in Pangyo, and designation of Busan's business area Centum City as a base for the southeastern region.

The proposed fund will target cybersecurity startups that integrate promising new technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum safe communication. A roadmap for the adoption of the network security strategy zero trust (ZT) will also seek to overcome the limitations of conventional firewall-based cybersecurity.

ZT constantly verifies the identities of all connected terminals based on the premise that an attack on a network can occur at any time. Demand for this technology has risen with the expansion of cloud systems and home and remote work and diversification of work terminals to devices like desktop and tablet PCs and smartphones.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at jin1@hankyung.com