Long-term strategy needed to refine software expertise, skills
The proportion of foreign-made software has hit an all-time high in Korea's public sector, including government agencies and offices. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the localization ratio of public-sector software stood at 40.7 percent last year, the lowest since relevant statistics began to be compiled in 2017. The ratio rose to 44.69 percent in 2018 but has declined since then.
Despite the government's efforts to activate the use of homegrown software and public organizations' moves to adopt domestic software, there has been a constantly heavy dependence on foreign-made software.
A closer look at the statistics shows how much foreign software is preferred here. As of 2021, the software localization ratio in information protection and control reached 73.72 percent and 90.25 percent, respectively. But the software localization ratio in other major segments remained at 10-20 percent.
What's most worrisome is that the localization ratio in operating systems (OS), database management system (DBMS) and backup ― which comprise the key components computing ― was tallied at 1.74 percent, 18.52 percent and 20.36 percent, respectively. This means that the country's dependence on foreign-made software has reached a perilous state. Fortunately, the proportion of homemade hardware in the public sector rose from 29.29 percent in 2019 to 32.21 percent in 2021.
The country's heavy reliance on foreign software is not something that started recently. But it's unwise to take the problem lightly at a time when nations don't hesitate to weaponize their resources and technologies. In July 2019, the Japanese government imposed export restrictions on some key materials for South Korea's semiconductors and displays in apparent retaliation for the Supreme Court's ruling on compensation for wartime forced labor victims. The United States has implemented an export control on advanced chip design software to hold China in check.
Given the country's lagging software industry, it's impossible to change everything overnight. It's critical to refine expertise and skills with a long-term strategy to lower dependence on foreign-made software.
The proportion of foreign-made software has hit an all-time high in Korea's public sector, including government agencies and offices. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the localization ratio of public-sector software stood at 40.7 percent last year, the lowest since relevant statistics began to be compiled in 2017. The ratio rose to 44.69 percent in 2018 but has declined since then.
Despite the government's efforts to activate the use of homegrown software and public organizations' moves to adopt domestic software, there has been a constantly heavy dependence on foreign-made software.
A closer look at the statistics shows how much foreign software is preferred here. As of 2021, the software localization ratio in information protection and control reached 73.72 percent and 90.25 percent, respectively. But the software localization ratio in other major segments remained at 10-20 percent.
What's most worrisome is that the localization ratio in operating systems (OS), database management system (DBMS) and backup ― which comprise the key components computing ― was tallied at 1.74 percent, 18.52 percent and 20.36 percent, respectively. This means that the country's dependence on foreign-made software has reached a perilous state. Fortunately, the proportion of homemade hardware in the public sector rose from 29.29 percent in 2019 to 32.21 percent in 2021.
The country's heavy reliance on foreign software is not something that started recently. But it's unwise to take the problem lightly at a time when nations don't hesitate to weaponize their resources and technologies. In July 2019, the Japanese government imposed export restrictions on some key materials for South Korea's semiconductors and displays in apparent retaliation for the Supreme Court's ruling on compensation for wartime forced labor victims. The United States has implemented an export control on advanced chip design software to hold China in check.
Given the country's lagging software industry, it's impossible to change everything overnight. It's critical to refine expertise and skills with a long-term strategy to lower dependence on foreign-made software.
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