Sun Microsystems Opens Research Center on Java in Seoul

Sun Microsystems opens research center on Java in Seoul

SEOUL, April 6 (Xinhua) — US network computer manufacturer Sun Microsystems Inc. opened its first research and development center in Asia here on Wednesday to develop a wide range of software using its Java programming language, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

The opening ceremony for the Java research center, held here Wednesday afternoon, was attended by Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Scott McNealy and South Korean Information and Communication Minister Chin Dae-je, according to Yonhap.

Sun plans to spend a total of 50 million US dollars over the next four years to fund the lab’s development activities.

“Just like Silicon Valley, Korea is where to go if you want to see the real potential of a fully networked society,” McNealy said in a speech at the ceremony.

“There’s a belief here that everything should be connected to the network, and that’s exactly what our vision is at Sun,” he said. “Korea has an extremely talented IT workforce, and that’s why we will continue to have a strong presence in Korea moving forward.”

For his part, Chin Dae-je said Sun’s Java technology is considered to be essential because it will have a tremendous impact on the further development of mobile and embedded software.

South Korea leads the world in broadband Internet usage. More than two-thirds of its 15 million homes have high-speed Internet connections. In addition, there have been 37.1 million mobile phone subscribers in the country out of a population of 48 million as of March.