S. Korean tech firms eye bigger share in remote work market

South Korean tech firms are eyeing a bigger share of the growing remote work market as businesses brace for drawn-out restrictions caused brought by the pandemic.

Kakao Work is poised to challenge established platforms such as Microsoft Corp.'s Teams and Slack with the help of KakaoTalk's 45.5 million local user base.

South Korea has a population of 51 million.

Kakao Work offers remote work tools, such as videoconferencing and an AI assistant.

Its interface is similar to its parent company's KakaoTalk messenger.

Smaller software companies in South Korea are also racing to develop remote work tools.

Madras check, which developed work collaboration software for Hyundai Motor Co., partnered with KT Corp., videoconference developer SaehaComms Co., and virtual software firm Tilon Inc., to develop a remote work platform using 5G dubbed KT Digital Works, by the end of this year.

The partnership is targetting the global market for KT Digital Works.

Meanwhile, Samsung SDS, hopes to profit from the remote work trend with its Brity Works platform, which provides collaboration software, such as email, messaging, videoconferencing, AI chatbot services, and robotic process automation.

According to a report from the Samjong KPMG Economic Research Institute, the global collaboration tool market is expected to reach 15.84 trillion won in 2023, from 12.8 trillion won in 2018.

The Korea Economic Research Institute found in its July survey that 75 percent of South Korea's largest firms companies have introduced flexible working systems.