Telefonica Open Future, KT and South Korean Government

This partnership, which sees the mutual sharing of entrepreneurial, investment and external innovation expertise, follows the launch of a program by the South Korean government to promote innovation across the country. Telefónica Open Future_, the open innovation network of Telefónica, will join forces with Korea Telecom and G-CEIC to boost the program in the Gyeonggi province, near the country’s capital, Seoul, which is one of the most developed areas in South Korea when it comes to ICT.

The agreement was signed at a ceremony led by the President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye; the President of Korea Telecom, Chang-Gyu Hwang; the Governor of the Gyeonggi province Nam Kyung-pil; and Luis Solana Madariaga, President of Telefónica Open Future_, who intervened through video conference. Other participants at the event included the Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning; the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Justice Minister of South Korea, in addition to other KT executives and the Ambassador of Spain in South Korea, Gonzalo Ortiz Díez-Tortosa, and a selection of major South Korean private companies.

The agreement opens up new opportunities for existing Open Future_ and Korean startups to access new markets and enjoy multiple services such as workspaces present in established Open Future_ centers and also a new innovation center created by the South Korean Government and Korea Telecom. The startups selected by this program will also have access to support from each of the partners to aid with commercial development and will be able to take advantage of the Telefónica and South Korean Government’s investment vehicles.

Through this collaboration agreement Telefónica Open Future_ has established a strong link with South Korea – one of the world’s most technologically advanced countries. The South Korean government recently launched a major new initiative in partnership with leading Korean companies to accelerate entrepreneurship. This initiative is primarily focused on startups that are making the most of new technologies and are aiming expand internationally. The agreement with Korea Telekom and Telefónica Open Future is part of this initiative.

For Telefónica Open Future_ the signing of this agreement represents an extension of its  footprint in Asia where it has already formed an alliance with China Unicom and Tsinghua Holdings. Telefónica’s open innovation programme currently reaches 18 countries and has, to date, committed over 310 million euros across 500 companies creating more than 5,000 jobs.