Policy framework for geospatial technology based on the open source GIS SW in South Korea

Abstract

GIS SW can be divided into proprietary GIS SW and open source GIS SW, according to whether the access to the source code is open to the public or not. The proprietary GIS SW market was created around in the early 1980s and the best example will be the success of ESRI’s ArcGIS. The market for open source GIS SW, on the other hand, was started in the 2000s, with different types of SW developed for applications. In South Korea, the most share of the domestic market is owned by foreign proprietary GIS SW, and the remaining small proportion is dominated by domestic proprietary GIS SW. Open source GIS SW development in South Korea is still at the very initial phase. This paper explores why and how South Korean government could support open source GIS SW development and application. First of all, appropriate government policy could create a pool of healthy domestic competitors in the open source GIS SW market, which could reduce ineffectiveness from proprietary GIS SW. It could also help further development of geospatial technology through competition. Such policies could range from direct strategy of supporting the development of open source GIS SW application services to the indirect strategy of providing the propitious environment for companies to develop the applications/services. The national open source GIS SW ecosystem competes with the global proprietary GIS SW ecosystem, whereas it cooperates with the global open source GIS SW ecosystem. Both direct and indirect government strategies should be based on competition and cooperation, which will help develop the healthy national geospatial technology ecosystem.