Korean smart home market reached 8.56 trillion won (US$ 7.85 billion) last year, which was an increase of 24.3 percent from 2013. (image: CODE_n/flickr)
SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korean smart home market increased by 24 percent last year. According to an announcement from the Korea Association of Smart Home (KASH) on April 5, the Korean smart home market reached 8.56 trillion won (US$ 7.85 billion) last year, which was an increase of 24.3 percent from 2013.
Smart TV and home entertainment products accounted for 57.7 percent of the market, while smart household appliances stood for 30.7 percent. Home security gadgets took a 6.8 percent share and home automation systems accounted for 3.7 percent, while smart green home systems stood for 1.1 percent. The highest sales came from smart TV devices and their related services and applications, which reached 3.74 trillion won (US$ 3.42 billion).
The association conducted a survey on 400 Koreans in seven Korean cities, and found that 90 percent of respondents were very aware of smart home products, with 87.5 percent answering that they were willing to use newly launched smart home affiliated services offered through subscriptions at prices between 10,000 won (US$ 9) and 30,000 won (US$ 27) per month.
However, the rate of smart TV distribution in 2014 stood at 9.6 percent, which increased a mere 0.6 percent from the previous year, in part because cable TV companies have been aggressive in providing their customers with smart TV functioning cable sets.
By M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
