The age cooperation

LEE SO-A
The author is an industrial team reporter at the JoongAng Ilbo.

On Aug. 12, Samsung Electronics developed the first-ever 100 million-pixel mobile image sensor. Now you can take ultra-high resolution pictures with your smartphone camera on par with DSLR cameras. This sensor is a product of cooperation with China’s Xiaomi. In July, BMW and Daimler — rival German high-end carmakers — announced they would jointly produce self-driving cars. Hyundai Motor is to develop medical service technology with MDGo of Israel. MDGo is a company that analyzes medical information on the injuries of the passengers through sensors in a car in case of an accident.

Over the past five years, rivals, different industries and companies from different countries have increasingly worked together in the global industry. The reason is simple. The future is basically an era of cooperation. The so-called fourth industrial revolution essentially evolves around the economy and a society where data is obtained from the Internet of Things, which connects all objects with the internet and AI to facilitate automated decision making.

World’s top carmakers would want to develop semiconductors, cameras, sensors and AI technology to offer their own self-driving vehicle, but time won’t wait. It is far better to first work with leading companies in each industry and develop the most competitive product or technology to occupy the market and take the lead. So there is no eternal friend or enemy, and companies work together.

I am very worried that the Korean government is emphasizing “localization” in response to Japan’s economic restrictions. President Moon Jae-in’s remarks, “We are living in the age of highly divided labor internationally, and each country has its strength and weakness,” is already the answer. Localization should be promoted as a part of the efforts to diversify supply channels, but it is more realistic to cooperate or merge with competitive local and foreign companies and form joint ventures for technologies and products needed. It is the age of hyper-connectivity — divided we fall, united we stand.

JoongAng Ilbo, Aug. 14, Page 31