S. Korea's mobile Internet market expected to hit US$40 bln in 2017

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's mobile Internet market is forecast to be worth US$40 billion in 2017, a global consulting firm said Tuesday, driven by its advanced network coverage and robust demand for e-commerce and smartphone apps. The mobile Internet market reached $28 billion for Asia's fourth-largest economy at the end of 2013, accounting for about 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). This is according to data compiled by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) based on 13 countries surveyed for a report commissioned by Google Korea. South Korea will likely see a 10-percent expansion annually in its mobile Internet growth over the next two years, with the size of its e-commerce expected to grow 15 percent every year to $7 billion over the same period, the data showed. South Korea, one of the most mature countries in the world in terms of mobile development, has both the infrastructure, such as the 4th generation network, and users who are willing to spend money on mobile applications and Internet shopping, which will be key to fueling growth, the BCG noted. "The mobile Internet economy has emerged as a major industry over the last five years, and we anticipate it will grow more rapidly in the future," Ethan Choi, a BCG partner said at a press briefing. South Koreans showed in the report a strong attachment to the use of their mobile devices and mobile-related activities. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they would give up chocolate, fast food or newspapers over mobile Internet use. Sixty percent of the Koreans said they would rather quit alcohol and coffee, while 20 percent answered they would give up taking a shower. South Koreans also demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with goods and services they buy from the mobile Internet market. The per-capita consumer surplus, the difference between what consumers are willing to pay for a given product versus its actual market price, stood at $4,400 as of end-2013, surpassing the average of $4,000 held by the 13 countries. Its mobile Internet growth was reflected in the country's smartphone exports, the report added. The handsets made by South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. accounted for more than 30 percent of the total sold in the tallied countries in 2013, growing nearly fourfold from 7.7 percent in 2008. Its smaller rival, LG Electronics Inc., held a 5 percent share in 2013. The 13 countries surveyed, which make up more than 70 percent of the world's GDP, are estimated to generate $1.6 trillion in revenue from the mobile Internet market in 2017, growing by 23 percent annually. South Korea posted $4.5 billion in e-commerce sales in 2014, up 15 percent from a year earlier. elly@yna.co.kr (END)