More than 200 South Korean firms are poised to showcase various Internet of Things application services and products at an international exhibition in Seoul slated for later this week as Internet connections are penetrating deeper into everyday lives, organizers for the event said Monday.

The IoT Korea Exhibition 2017, part of IoT Week Korea 2017, will kick off Tuesday at the Convention and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul for a four-day run. The event, the fourth of its kind, is hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The basic idea of the IoT is to connect all objects to the Internet and give them the ability to identify themselves to other devices and people in order to exchange data for improved efficiency and convenience.
 

The Seoul government has been pushing forward various projects to secure a new growth strategy to cope with the fast-paced industrial transformation, dubbed the "fourth industrial revolution," and characterized by a fusion of cutting-edge technologies, most noticeably in the IoT sector.

"The IoT connectivity is the core technology of the fourth industrial revolution," said Kim Yong-soo, an ICT ministry official, noting the exhibition will serve as an opportunity for more firms and people to get involved, and to discuss the ways to improve the IoT industry sector.

South Korea's three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- will set up booths at the exhibition Wednesday and introduce their latest IoT technologies, the ministry said.

The ministry forecasts nearly 23,000 people from 45 countries will visit this year's event. (Yonhap)