Korea Information and Communication Society (KICS)

What Korea Information and Communication Society (KICS) does

The Korea Information and Communication Society (KICS, 사단법인 한국통신학회) is a Seoul-headquartered, non-profit academic society founded in 1974 that functions as Korea's representative professional body for the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. It serves an ecosystem of more than 30,000 members drawn from universities, corporate research labs, government institutes, and graduate students, organized across 30 specialized research communities covering 5G/6G, AI, quantum communications, blockchain, satellite communications, optical communications, and adjacent fields. The society operates through 8 domestic regional branches and 16 overseas branches spanning East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, North America, Europe, and Africa.

KICS's product surface is built around three academic journals (the domestic Scopus-indexed J-KICS, the international JCN with Impact Factor 2.9, and ICT Express with Impact Factor 4.2 published via Elsevier and ranked Q1 in Computer Science & Information Systems per Clarivate JCR), a monthly Information & Communications Magazine (ISSN 2234-2931), and an English-language Global Newsletter (ISSN 2671-891X). Its event portfolio includes seasonal Summer/Winter/Fall academic conferences, the international ICTC held at Sheraton Jeju, the AI Frontiers Summit, and short courses on topics such as B5G/6G core technologies and quantum communications. Distribution is entirely direct via owned digital properties (kics.or.kr, conf.kics.or.kr, event.kics.or.kr, journal.kics.or.kr) and social channels.

The revenue model is diversified and recurring in nature: annual membership dues (individual, corporate, and group tiers), conference and workshop registration fees, journal submission and publication charges, and corporate sponsorship, supplemented by grants and partnership-funded research support programs. Strategic partnerships span Samsung Electronics (20,000-paper data licensing for generative AI training), the Korean Army (defense ICT), University of Surrey 5G/6G Innovation Centre, Singapore University of Technology and Design, ETRI, and National Instruments, with Ministry of Science and ICT endorsement on flagship initiatives. The society operates a self-perpetuating governance model with elected presidents, an executive board, and active alumni placement into Korean telecom governance.

Name

Korea Information and Communication Society (KICS)

Legal name

사단법인 한국통신학회

Website

https://kics.or.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

KICS is Korea's largest ICT academic society, founded in 1974, serving over 30,000 members through three journals, major conferences, and 30 specialized research groups spanning communications networks, AI, quantum communications, and 6G technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from individual members (general members), corporate members, and group members. Members receive access to journals, conferences, and member benefits.
2. Conference Registration Fees: Conference registration fees for academic conferences including Summer, Winter, and Fall conferences, as well as international conferences like ICTC
3. Journal Publication Fees: Paper review and publication fees for journal submissions to KICS journals including J-KICS and international journals
4. Workshop and Short Course Fees: Registration fees for workshops, short courses, and seminars on topics including 5G/6G, AI, quantum computing, and communications networks

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

KICS is Korea's largest ICT professional academic society, offering individual, corporate, and group memberships, publishing three academic journals (J-KICS, JCN with Impact Factor 2.9, and ICT Express with Impact Factor 4.2), and organizing major annual conferences (Summer, Winter, Fall, ICTC, AI Frontiers Summit) along with workshops, short courses, and 30 specialized research groups covering topics from 5G/6G and AI to quantum communications and satellite communications.

Product overview

KICS (한국통신학회) is Korea's largest ICT professional society, founded in 1974. It operates as an academic organization rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings include multiple academic journals (J-KICS, JCN, ICT Express), a monthly magazine (Information & Communications Magazine), major annual conferences (KICS Summer/Winter/Fall Conferences, ICTC, AI Frontiers Summit), short courses and workshops on cutting-edge topics (6G, quantum communications, AI), research support programs for scholars, and international collaboration through overseas chapters. The society provides an open network for universities, companies, government agencies, and research institutions to participate in ICT academic activities, technical cooperation, and policy development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences (J-KICS) The domestic Korean-language journal of KICS covering communications and information sciences research, registered with Scopus since 2023.
• The Journal of Communications and Networks (JCN) International SCIE-indexed journal published by KICS with Impact Factor 2.9, covering communications and networks research for global academic and industry audiences.
• ICT Express (Information & Communications Technology Express) Open-access international journal published by KICS through Elsevier with Impact Factor 4.2 and Q1 ranking in Computer Science & Information Systems, covering ICT convergence and intelligent information topics.
• Information & Communications Magazine KICS's monthly periodical providing ICT news, trends, and society information, published in Korean with ISSN 2234-2931.
• Global Newsletter English-language newsletter published by KICS covering international ICT trends and society activities, with ISSN 2671-891X.
• ICTC (International Conference on Information and Communication Technology Convergence) Major annual international conference hosted by KICS held in October at Sheraton Jeju, covering ICT and telecommunications research with global participation.
• KICS Summer/Winter/Fall Conferences Major seasonal academic conferences held three times a year at venues like Jeju, offering paper presentations, special sessions, and networking for ICT researchers.
• AI Frontiers Summit Annual summit focused on AI technology trends and applications, featuring international and domestic AI experts.
• Short Courses and Workshops Educational programs covering topics such as B5G/6G core technologies, quantum communications, AI literacy, and network technologies, offered both online and in-person.
• KICS Academic Research Support Programs Support programs for new researchers including grants, points for conference registration, and journal publication fees, plus scholarships for students and new faculty academic research support.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Korean ArmycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2025Technical cooperation and future talent cultivation MOU signed during Summer Conference 2026. Includes technology cooperation, policy development for defense communications, and military ICT talent cultivation. Collaboration with Korean Agency for Defense Development (KIDA) and major defense companies.
• Samsung ElectronicsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 December 2023MOU for paper database provision - Samsung Electronics received 20,000 research papers from KICS for use as training data for Samsung Gauss generative AI model and next-generation communications technology research.
• Ministry of Science and ICTcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 December 2023Supported the MOU between KICS and Samsung Electronics for generative AI development. Ministry sees this as social contribution for Korean generative AI competitiveness.
• National Instruments (NI) and NubicomcoreTechnology or Integration · 2 November 20226G technology and information exchange MOU for 6G Open Hub initiative. KICS shares conference information and activities with NI/Nubicom, while NI and Nubicom share 6G technology and solutions. Supporting the 6G Open Hub MOU established with universities including Yonsei, Hanyang, POSTECH, Singapore SUTD, and Tsinghua University.
• Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Beyond 5G/6G joint research cooperation. Joint research collaboration, 6G test platform development cooperation, annual workshops/seminars, and information exchange. Connected to Singapore's Future Communications Programme (FCP) with ~70 million SGD funding.
• University of Surrey 5G/6G Innovation Centre (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 August 2021Beyond 5G/6G research cooperation MOU. Joint research collaboration, 5G/6G test platform development cooperation, annual workshops/seminars, and information exchange. MoU expected to continue for 6 years.
• Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular collaboration partner in defense ICT sessions, CEIC conference (organized by Daejeon-Chungnam branch), and various research initiatives. Major Korean government research institute for ICT.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Springer Nature: Academic publisher comparable to the Elsevier partnership model KICS uses for ICT Express. Relevant as an adjacent infrastructure provider in the journal-publication value chain.
• Elsevier (publisher of ICT Express): Publishing partner that hosts and distributes KICS's ICT Express open-access journal. Indirect commercial peer through the journal-publishing value chain KICS participates in.

Broad incumbents

• AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science): Larger multidisciplinary scientific society publishing Science. Demonstrates the upper bound of what a national academic society can scale to in terms of journals, members, and global influence.
• ACM (Association for Computing Machinery): Global computing society with 100,000+ members, top-tier journals (CACM, TOG), and major conferences (SIGCOMM, MobiCom). Wider scope than KICS but directly competes for author submissions and conference attendance in ICT-adjacent fields.

Direct peers

• IEEE Communications Society: Global ICT academic society publishing flagship journals (IEEE JSAC, IEEE Trans. Comm.) and hosting ICC, GLOBECOM, and INFOCOM. Most directly comparable global counterpart to KICS in scope (communications/networks research, journals, conferences, member benefits).
• KISS (Korea Information Science Society): Domestic Korean academic society for computer science. Shares the Korean academic-society business model and competes for overlapping researcher memberships in software, AI, and information systems topics.
• IEIE (Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers, Korea): Korean counterpart academic society covering electronics and information engineering. Competes with KICS for Korean researchers, particularly in electronics-adjacent subfields overlapping KICS's communications scope.
• KSII (Korea Society for Internet Information): Domestic Korean peer academic society focused on internet/information technologies. Overlaps with KICS on membership pools, journal venues, and conference audiences within the Korean ICT research community.
• IEICE (Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers): Japan's premier ICT academic society with similar structure: multiple journals (IEICE Trans.), annual conferences, technical committees, and member-driven governance. Closest geographic and structural peer to KICS.
• CIC (China Institute of Communications): China's national ICT academic society with journal publications, annual conferences, and government engagement. Closest Asia regional peer to KICS in terms of national society model and industry-academia bridging role.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCT8LNO3KXU87gQcRXtTijxg
• Facebookfacebook.com/kics3453
• Instagraminstagram.com/kics1974
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kics-ph

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Korea Information and Communication Society (KICS)