"Receive Bills on Mobile" Saved 14 Billion Won Through ICT Regulatory Sandbox

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] It is estimated that more than 14 billion KRW in social costs have been saved due to new services launched through the ICT regulatory sandbox, such as mobile electronic notifications and shared kitchens. The mobile driver's license service launched by the three major telecommunications companies in June has surpassed 1.5 million users, continuing to receive positive responses from the public.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 6th the major achievements of ICT regulatory sandbox designated companies in the third quarter. In the third quarter, 10 new services were launched, including 'shared accommodation service (WeHome)', 'GPS-based app meter service (Kakao Mobility)', 'mobility platform service (Papa Mobility)', and 'non-face-to-face mobile subscription service (KT)'. As a result, the total number of new technologies and services launched since the system's implementation increased to 37.

Despite the difficult conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the cumulative sales of designated companies that launched new products and services increased by 10.21 billion KRW (179.3%↑) from 5.68 billion KRW in December 2019 to 15.89 billion KRW.

Banban Taxi, launched by Konatus in August last year, surpassed 240,000 app downloads and received great market response, with monthly sales increasing more than 30 times compared to September last year. The 'mobile electronic notification service' by KT, Kakao Pay, and Naver replaced 32 institutions' 179 types and 32 million postal notifications with mobile notifications, significantly expanding the service scale. Currently, discussions are underway with financial institutions and insurance companies to expand the mobile electronic notification service.

Job creation effects were also confirmed. As of the end of September (cumulative), a total of 388 new hires were made to promote new businesses following the designation of the ICT regulatory sandbox. This is more than a 270% increase from 104 at the end of last year. The housekeeping service platform Daerijubu has been hiring new domestic workers monthly since the service launch, and Papa Mobility's mobility platform specialized for the transportation-disadvantaged hired 85 people during the demonstration process after its July launch. The Goyohan Mobility platform, launched in August this year, also employed 16 vulnerable people, including the hearing impaired, as drivers, indicating an expansion of job creation in the mobility sector.

Additionally, 28 companies invested a total of 16.5 billion KRW in expanding production facilities and building information systems to provide new services, and 8 companies attracted investments totaling 23.77 billion KRW through venture capital (VC) and others.

Specifically, non-face-to-face mobile subscription services and mobile driver's licenses expanded new IT infrastructure worth 2 billion KRW for system development and construction to promote new businesses. Banban Taxi received a total of 4.91 billion KRW in investment (Series A) through two rounds of fundraising. The 'long-distance multi-wireless charging stand (Warp Solution)' attracted more than 2 billion KRW in new investments after being designated in the regulatory sandbox and recently signed a new contract with a major domestic company to apply wireless charging technology to products, expanding its business.

The social cost reduction effect was also significant. The Ministry of Science and ICT estimated that about 14.38 billion KRW in social costs were saved in various fields, including postal cost reduction through 'mobile electronic notifications,' initial startup cost reduction through 'shared kitchens,' and on-site dispatch cost reduction for simple failures using the 'unmanned remote power management system.'

The 'mobile electronic notification service' saved postal costs worth 9.55 billion KRW, approximately 298 KRW per sent notification. Additionally, the 'unmanned remote power management system (Telaum),' launched in October last year, remotely controlled 276 power system failures without on-site dispatch, reducing dispatch costs by 41 million KRW. Furthermore, the 'shared kitchen (Simple Project Company)' saw multiple businesses register 123 business licenses at shared kitchens, reducing initial startup costs by more than 3.51 billion KRW. The average cost reduction per business was about 28 million KRW.

Park Yoon-gyu, Director of Information and Communication Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “Various new services in fields such as non-face-to-face, mobility, and sharing economy have been launched in the market through the ICT regulatory sandbox, achieving remarkable results. Based on this, many new businesses are knocking on the door of the regulatory sandbox,” adding, “We will support not only the designation of regulatory exemptions for innovative new technologies and services but also their actual market launch so that the public can feel their benefits, and ultimately work with regulatory authorities to improve related regulations.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.