The Evolution of the National Innovation System in the Korean Mobile Telecommunication Industry

Technological innovation in the Korean mobile telecommunications industry has been dramatic and has turned it into one of the major industries in Korea today. The first mobile telecommunication service in Korea was launched in 1984 based on analogue technology. Analogue technology is generally referred to as first-generation technology and the Korean industry depended heavily on foreign companies and their technology at that time. In the 1990s, however, Korea succeeded in commercializing a secondgeneration technology, CDMA technology. In 2002, the Korean mobile telecommunication industry is now moving into the third-generation phase of broadband mobile telecommunication and Korean firms are considered global leaders in technology for the mobile telecommunication industry.