Bundled Products, Smartphones Emerge As Main Trends of the South Korean Market

According to ROA Group, 2009 will bring significant changes into the South Korean telecommunications market as KTF, the second largest mobile operator, is going to complete its merger with KT, starting a fierce competition with SKT in the bundled products category.

When WIPI, Korea's local and unique platform environment, will be scrapped in April 2009, the introduction of application business models is expected to speed up.

But due to the global economic slowdown and increase in binding customers to long-term contract plans, mobile device market in South Korea will decrease 20% from 23.2 million to 21 million.

However, smartphone line-up will be more enriched in 2009, and ROA Group predicts that smartphones will emerge as the powerful ‘media' of the evolution in the South Korean mobile market during 2009, linked with three-screen services.

"Also, as global device vendors advance into the South Korean market, competition among global vendors and consolidated domestic vendors will intensify, says Jeong Ho Yoon, chief consultant at the mobile device team of ROA Korea.

In 2009 and 2010, the biggest questions are "how to create new service business models amid rises of smartphones as the key trend of mobile device market?" and "how users can make use of this new media in their everyday lives?" added David Kim, chief consultant at ROA Korea.

Posted to the site on 3rd March 2009