Visible Light Communication in South Korea Trends and Forecast
The future of the visible light communication market in South Korea looks promising with opportunities in the consumer electronic, defense and security, transportation, public infrastructure, and life sciences markets. The global visible light communication market is expected to reach an estimated $28.9 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 39.7% from 2025 to 2031. The visible light communication market in South Korea is also forecasted to witness strong growth over the forecast period. The major drivers for this market are the rising adoption of LED lighting systems, the increasing need for high-speed communication networks, and the growing demand for building smart city infrastructure.
• Lucintel forecasts that, within the transmission type category, Bi-directional is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period.
• Within the application category, consumer electronics is expected to witness the highest growth.
Emerging Trends in the Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea
The market for Visible Light Communication (VLC) in South Korea is rapidly transforming, fueled by innovations in smart technologies, energy efficiency, and growing needs for data transmission speed. VLC presents a promising future compared to conventional communication technologies such as Wi-Fi and 5G, with visible light used for data transmission. With South Korean strong focus on innovation and interconnectivity across many sectors, VLC is poised to lead the way in industries such as smart cities, healthcare, and transportation. Below are five key emerging trends that will influence the VLC space in South Korea.
• Integration with Smart Cities: VLC is increasingly being incorporated into South Korean smart city initiatives, where it powers intelligent lighting systems that enable smooth data transfer. This integration facilitates applications such as traffic management, environmental monitoring, and public safety. With existing LED infrastructure, VLC provides both illumination and communication, contributing to more connected, energy-efficient urban spaces. This aligns with South Korean smart city vision.
• Indoor Navigation and Positioning System Advancements: VLC plays a critical role in advancing indoor positioning systems, especially in industries like retail, healthcare, and hospitality. By using light signals, VLC allows for accurate location-based services like asset tracking and customized navigation in buildings. VLC enhances business efficiency, customer experience, and security, creating new business opportunities to optimize services in shopping malls, hospitals, airports, and other similar environments.
• Energy-Efficient Communication Solutions: VLC is recognized for its energy efficiency by utilizing already installed LED lighting infrastructure, reducing the carbon footprint of communication systems. Energy efficiency has become a major priority for enterprises and municipalities in South Korea, and VLC offers a two-in-one solution—energy-efficient lighting and data transmission capabilities. This aligns with the countries sustainability targets, making VLC an attractive option for various industries to reduce energy usage while enhancing communication capabilities.
• Enhanced Data Security: With increasing demands for data privacy and cybersecurity, VLC offers a significant advantage due to its inherent security features. Visible light, unlike radio waves, cannot pass through walls, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access to confidential information. In sectors like banking, healthcare, and government services, VLC is gaining attention as a secure communication method to safeguard important data. This trend positions VLC as a valuable solution for organizations needing high-level data security.
• Expansion of Healthcare Applications: VLC is becoming more widely used in healthcare environments in South Korea, where communication needs to be secure, high-speed, and interference-free. VLC is being applied in patient monitoring, medical device communications, and hospital management systems. VLC facilitates real-time data transmission, improving operational effectiveness and patient care. The healthcare sector is increasingly relying on technology, and VLC offers a reliable communication solution, particularly in areas where traditional wireless methods face limitations.
These emerging trends in the South Korean VLC market are propelling innovation across various fields. From smart cities to healthcare, VLC is revolutionizing data transmission with energy-saving, secure, and high-speed options. As the technology continues to develop, these trends will have a significant impact on urban planning, communication infrastructures, and the digital transformation of industries in South Korea, making VLC a key player in the countries technological future.
Recent Developments in the Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea
The South Korean Visible Light Communication (VLC) market has witnessed major developments in recent years, with technology becoming increasingly accepted across various industry sectors. Key developments include the integration of VLC for smart cities, advancements in indoor navigation systems, and its expanding use in healthcare. These developments demonstrate the growing capabilities of VLC to offer energy-efficient, secure, and fast communication solutions. Below are five key developments that are shaping the future of VLC in South Korea.
• Smart City Integration: One of the most significant developments is the integration of VLC into South Korean smart city systems. VLC is being utilized to provide intelligent lighting that not only illuminates public spaces but also facilitates data transmission. This integration is being used in traffic management, environmental surveillance, and public security systems, making cities more efficient and connected. As South Korea continues advancing its smart city projects, VLC is emerging as a major enabler of this transformation.
• Enhanced Indoor Navigation and Positioning Systems: VLC’s functionality in indoor positioning systems has been further enhanced, providing accurate navigation and asset tracking. VLC is increasingly used in industries such as retail, healthcare, and logistics. For example, VLC enables real-time location-based services in hospitals, improving patient care and asset management. In the retail industry, VLC enhances customer experiences by guiding them through large malls, making it an important business tool for optimizing operations and service delivery.
• Greater Emphasis on Data Safety: As data security becomes more important in South Korea, VLC is proving to be a viable option due to its built-in security features. The inability of visible light to pass through walls ensures that personal data transmitted via VLC cannot be accessed by unauthorized individuals. With growing concerns about cybersecurity, VLC is being explored as a safe alternative to traditional wireless communication technologies, especially in industries like banking, government, and healthcare, where data security is a top priority.
• Efficient Energy Communication: South Korean focus on sustainability is driving the adoption of VLC as an energy-efficient communication solution. By reusing existing LED lighting infrastructure, VLC reduces the need for additional power supplies while providing both lighting and communication services. This technology is gaining attention from businesses and municipalities aiming to reduce energy consumption while enhancing communication infrastructure. With South Korean emphasis on reducing carbon emissions, VLC’s energy-saving capabilities align perfectly with the country’s green initiatives.
• Healthcare Communication Solutions: VLC technology is gaining ground in South Korean healthcare industry, where secure and high-speed communication is essential. VLC’s interference-free data transmission makes it ideal for patient monitoring and hospital communication systems. VLC enables the real-time transmission of patient data, improving medical outcomes and operational efficiency. Hospitals are increasingly recognizing VLC as a vital tool in modern healthcare, particularly as they seek to improve service delivery and security.
The recent advancements in the South Korean VLC market are positioning the technology to become a disruptive force in various industries. From enhancing smart city infrastructure to ensuring secure communication in healthcare, VLC is expanding its applications and influence. As these developments continue, VLC will play a crucial role in South Korea’s technological landscape, helping create more efficient, secure, and sustainable communication infrastructures.
Strategic Growth Opportunities for Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea
The South Korean Visible Light Communication (VLC) market is expected to experience substantial growth across diverse applications based on the nation’s focus on technological innovation and sustainability. The smart cities, healthcare, retail, transportation, and industrial automation sectors are likely to benefit from VLC’s energy efficiency, high speed, and security. By leveraging these applications, the South Korean VLC market will be critical in the development of communication technologies to meet both consumer and business demands in various industries.
• Smart Cities and Urban Infrastructure: VLC presents a significant opportunity for growth within South Korea’s smart city projects, where optimized and networked urban spaces are of importance. As the government speeds up its smart city initiatives, VLC can be coupled with existing LED infrastructure to deliver twin advantages—lighting and data transfer. This integration facilitates applications like traffic management, environmental monitoring, and public safety, leading to more sustainable and efficient cities. The deployment of VLC in smart cities will further improve city-wide management and enhance citizens’ quality of life, promoting demand for the technology.
• Healthcare and Patient Monitoring: South Korea’s advanced healthcare market offers a growth opportunity for VLC through its support for real-time, interference-free communication for patient monitoring and connectivity of medical devices. With the more widespread use of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices, VLC has the potential to deliver secure and high-speed data transmission in cases where conventional wireless technologies are unable to support it. VLC can ensure secure transmission of data with minimal interference and is critical for the delivery of high-quality care to patients, as well as better hospital management systems, providing significant growth opportunities within the healthcare domain.
• Retail and Location-Based Services: The South Korean retail sector is increasingly embracing VLC for location-based services such as asset tracking, customer-specific experiences, and inventory optimization. With the precise indoor positioning offered by VLC, companies can enhance operational efficiency, increase customer interaction, and deliver customized services in real time. The rise of e-commerce and the movement toward personalized in-store experiences create a significant opportunity for VLC to support retail operations, allowing businesses to address changing customer expectations and sustain a competitive advantage.
• Transportation and Autonomous Vehicles: VLC is becoming a significant growth opportunity in South Korea’s transportation market, specifically in the advancement of autonomous vehicles and traffic control systems. Through VLC’s capability to deliver high-speed, interference-free communications, vehicles and infrastructure can exchange real-time information for safer, more efficient transport. VLC’s low latency and high bandwidth properties are well-suited for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, which can enable the seamless operation of autonomous systems, avoiding accidents and improving traffic flow.
• Industrial Automation and Smart Factories: In the industrial sector, VLC has the potential to play a transformative role in automating operations and enhancing communication in smart factories. The high-speed, reliable, and secure communication offered by VLC can improve real-time monitoring, asset tracking, and machine-to-machine communication in manufacturing environments. With South Korea’s robust industrial sector and focus on Industry 4.0, VLC’s application to enhance operations, increase productivity, and lower operational costs is a substantial growth prospect, particularly as the nation adopts smart factory technologies.
The strategic growth prospects in the South Korean VLC market extend across varied applications, ranging from smart cities and healthcare to retail and industrial automation. These prospects are propelling technological innovation and allowing industries to embrace more effective, secure, and sustainable communication solutions. With South Korea remaining committed to smart infrastructure and technology development, VLC will be central to defining the future of communication technologies in core sectors, accelerating economic growth as well as improving quality of life.
Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea Driver and Challenges
The development of South Korea’s VLC market is being driven by multiple major drivers and challenges. The forces of technological innovation, economic benefits, and policy support are influencing VLC adoption. However, challenges related to high infrastructure costs, market awareness, and the formulation of supporting technologies might impede speedy uptake. Understanding these challenges and drivers is important in analyzing the future opportunity of VLC for South Korea’s new communications future.
The factors responsible for driving the visible light communication market in South Korea include:
• Technological Developments: Technological developments in LED lighting and optical devices are one of the major drivers for VLC adoption in South Korea. Improvements in the efficiency of LEDs, coupled with the creation of high-speed photodetectors, have increasingly made VLC a viable substitute for conventional wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi and 5G. These developments are lowering the deployment cost and enhancing VLC system performance, thereby making them more appealing to sectors like smart cities, healthcare, and transportation, where high-bandwidth, low-latency communication is crucial.
• Government Initiative for Smart Infrastructure: The South Korean government is investing significantly in smart infrastructure initiatives, which are one of the major driving factors for VLC uptake. In its dedication to the development of smart cities and sustainable growth, South Korea is incorporating VLC into urban infrastructure, transport, and health systems. Government policy and subsidies aimed at promoting innovation and sustainability are driving VLC technologies as a prime element in developing more efficient, networked, and green urban spaces. This strategic effort is fueling the ongoing expansion of the VLC market.
• Increasing Need for Secure, High-Speed Communication: With increasing demands for high-speed, secure communication in healthcare, finance, and government services industries, VLC seems to be a perfect answer. VLC’s limitation of not passing through walls, along with the secure channel for communication, can make it an attractive technology to be applied to industries where security and privacy of data are very important. In addition, the growing use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 technologies, which demand low-latency communication, is fueling the demand for VLC solutions. The potential to provide secure, high-speed, and interference-free communication makes VLC a promising solution for companies looking for robust and secure data transfer.
• Energy Efficiency and Sustainability: South Korea’s emphasis on lowering energy consumption and carbon emissions is also contributing to the growth of VLC. By building on current LED infrastructure, VLC offers an energy-saving substitute for conventional communication systems. With the nation continuing to focus on sustainability, VLC’s capacity to provide lighting and data transmission within a single system makes it an appealing option for cities and companies wishing to decrease their carbon footprint. This dual application of infrastructure fits into South Korea’s green strategies and helps fuel VLC’s growing adoption in urban and industrial applications.
• Internet of Things (IoT) Expansion: South Korea’s quick growth of IoT is creating a demand for stable, low-latency communication systems, which VLC can deliver. With more devices becoming networked, the requirement for smooth device-to-device communication grows. VLC’s ability to perform high-speed data transmission positions it as a favorable technology for use in IoT, allowing faster communication and enhanced integration of systems. In retail, healthcare, and transportation sectors, the adoption of VLC in IoT communications will facilitate the increased take-up and development of the technology shortly.
Challenges in the visible light communication market in South Korea are:
• High Initial Deployment Costs: High initial deployment costs are one of the primary challenges the South Korean VLC market is facing. The implementation of VLC infrastructure, especially in cities and smart city initiatives, demands huge initial capital investment in systems and hardware. Although VLC saves energy costs over the long term and reduces operating expenses, the high initial investment can prove to be a hurdle for companies and local governments. The requirement for huge capital investment can postpone the mass implementation of VLC technology in certain industries.
• Limited Consumer Awareness and Adoption: Despite all the benefits of VLC, constrained understanding and awareness of the technology among consumers and enterprises are major hindrances. Most industries are yet to understand the potential advantages of VLC, particularly about more mature communication technologies such as Wi-Fi and 5 G. More education and awareness campaigns are needed to promote VLC’s capabilities, especially in non-urban infrastructure and healthcare industries. The sluggish uptake in some industries could hamper the overall market growth of VLC in South Korea.
• Compatibility with Existing Technologies: Combining VLC with the current communication infrastructure and technologies might be challenging. Most industries already use Wi-Fi, 5G, and other wireless communication technologies, which complicates the switch to VLC. In industries such as healthcare and manufacturing, where existing systems are very much ingrained in processes, it is possible to make it hard to incorporate VLC without jeopardizing current routines. The forward compatibility of VLC with existing technology and the imperative for standardized protocols are issues to be overcome so that easier integration can be accommodated.
Technological development, government promotion, and increased need for secure communication in South Korea are all contributing to a strong demand for VLC adoption in the country. Despite the potential of VLC in revolutionizing South Korea’s communication infrastructures by providing energy-saving, secure, and high-speed solutions across various industries, it is being held back by barriers such as expensive deployment, limited awareness, and integration challenges. Addressing these impediments, VLC can revolutionize South Korea’s communication infrastructures with energy-efficient, secure, and high-speed solutions across numerous industries.
List of Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea Companies
Companies in the market compete based on the product quality they offer. Major players in this market focus on expanding their manufacturing facilities, R&D investments, infrastructural development, and leveraging integration opportunities across the value chain. Through these strategies, visible light communication companies cater to increasing demand, ensure competitive effectiveness, develop innovative products & technologies, reduce production costs, and expand their customer base. Some of the visible light communication companies profiled in this report include:
• Company 1
• Company 2
• Company 3
• Company 4
• Company 5
• Company 6
• Company 7
• Company 8
• Company 9
• Company 10
Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea by Segment
The study includes a forecast for the visible light communication market in South Korea by component, transmission type, and application.
Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea by Component [Analysis by Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• Light Emitting Diodes
• Photodetectors
• Microcontrollers
• Software and Services
Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea by Transmission Type [Analysis by Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• Uni-directional
• Bi-directional
Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea by Application [Analysis by Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• Consumer Electronics
• Defense and Security
• Transportation
• Public Infrastructure
• Life Sciences
• Others
Features of the Visible Light Communication Market in South Korea
Market Size Estimates: Visible light communication in South Korea market size estimation in terms of value ($B).
Trend and Forecast Analysis: Market trends and forecasts by various segments.
Segmentation Analysis: Visible light communication in South Korea market size by component, transmission type, and application in terms of value ($B).
Growth Opportunities: Analysis of growth opportunities in different components, transmission types, and applications for the visible light communication in South Korea.
Strategic Analysis: This includes M&A, new product development, and competitive landscape of the visible light communication in South Korea.
Analysis of competitive intensity of the industry based on Porter’s Five Forces model.
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FAQ
Q.1 What are the major drivers influencing the growth of the visible light communication market in South Korea?
Answer: The major drivers for this market are the rising adoption of LED lighting systems, the increasing need for high-speed communication networks, and the growing demand for building smart city infrastructure.
Q2. What are the major segments for visible light communication market in South Korea?
Answer: The future of the visible light communication market in South Korea looks promising with opportunities in the consumer electronic, defense and security, transportation, public infrastructure, and life sciences markets.
Q3. Which visible light communication market segment in South Korea will be the largest in future?
Answer: Lucintel forecast that bi-directional is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period.
Q4. Do we receive customization in this report?
Answer: Yes, Lucintel provides 10% customization without any additional cost.
This report answers following 10 key questions:
Q.1. What are some of the most promising, high-growth opportunities for the visible light communication market in South Korea by component (light emitting diodes, photodetectors, microcontrollers, and software & services), transmission type (uni-directional, and bi-directional), and application (consumer electronics, defense and security, transportation, public infrastructure, life sciences, and others)?
Q.2. Which segments will grow at a faster pace and why?
Q.3. What are the key factors affecting market dynamics? What are the key challenges and business risks in this market?
Q.4. What are the business risks and competitive threats in this market?
Q.5. What are the emerging trends in this market and the reasons behind them?
Q.6. What are some of the changing demands of customers in the market?
Q.7. What are the new developments in the market? Which companies are leading these developments?
Q.8. Who are the major players in this market? What strategic initiatives are key players pursuing for business growth?
Q.9. What are some of the competing products in this market and how big of a threat do they pose for loss of market share by material or product substitution?
Q.10. What M&A activity has occurred in the last 5 years and what has its impact been on the industry?
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