South Korea is set to become the first country in the world to start commercial operations of 5G wireless network.<br />Seoul's finance chief heaped praise on the achievement on Wednesday and pledged to come up with strong support measures for the services.<br />Kim Hyesung reports. <br />South Korea's finance minister says the 5G wireless network, which will be launched in Korea next month, will help improve people's quality of life. <br />At an innovative growth strategy meeting on Wednesday, Minister Hong Nam-ki said... the government's tax incentives and R&D investment in 5G have led to fruitful results, helping Korea become the first country in the world to start commercial operations of 5G mobile network services. <br />He added that the country's top three mobile carriers will invest more than 2-point-six billion U.S. dollars in 5G this year. <br />Twenty times faster than 4G LTE, the 5G network can transmit 20 gigabites of information a second.<br />It is seen as the key infrastructure that will enable advances in areas like driverless cars, telemedicine, smart factories and other areas... thanks to its speed and reliability.<br />According to market researcher IHS Markit, 5G is expected to generate over twelve trillion dollars of global economic output and support 22 million jobs by 2035. <br />Following the innovative growth strategy meeting, the finance minister visited the KT network control center on Wednesday afternoon to see how 5G-based services like robots and the Internet of Things work and get feedback from operators.<br />To further help lead advances in 5G and unleash innovation in ICT sectors, Minister Hong said the government will come up with a so-called 5G plus strategy by next month.<br />Kim Hyesung, Arirang News. <br />
