South Korea dishes out US$800m on RFID

Daeje Chin, the Korean Minister of Information and Communication, said after several pilot projects the government believes RFID to be as important as the mobile phone business.

Chin said: "This will be very important for us in the next 10 years. The handset business is very big but RFID will be as important. We are trying to procure a number of goals with RFID and the application of new technology brings benefits in all social systems including the individual family."

RFID tags broadcast unique identifier signals over a radio frequency, which means their movement can be tracked over long ranges. Chin said families could start seeing RFID in the home with fridges that track what has been eaten.

The Korean government, which said RFID will replace barcodes, is building several research and development centres in the country for different technologies. RFID production is planned for next year in the northern city of Songdo and will receive funding between 2005 and 2010.

So far the country has tested the technology for tracking beef imports (in case of an outbreak of BSE), managing army ammunition inventories and controlling luggage at several national airports.

"We are using it on imported beef in tracking and quarantining," Chin said. "We are keeping track of what it is and where it's sold. With air baggage control, before the luggage comes out you can see where it is, you can see your bag associated with your seat number so you know when to pick it up."