The participating firms include Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chipmaker and mobile phone supplier, and many other big South Korean names, such as SK Telecom Co. and LG Electronics Inc, as well as promising startups.

Not only tech and telecommunication companies but software firms brought their products and services to the event representing the cutting edge of the ongoing industrial transformation dubbed the "fourth industrial revolution."

Many local companies have been revamping research and development efforts to secure a new growth strategy to cope with the fourth industrial revolution that is characterized by a fusion of cutting-edge technologies such as big data, the Internet of Things and virtual reality.

A variety of exhibitions and booths at the venue guided visitors to take a glimpse into the future of what is to come.

Samsung Electronics set up the biggest booth, vying to draw attention to its newest gadgets such as smartphones, tablet computers and telecommunications technologies.

Visitors were able to experience a new edition of the Gear 360, a virtual reality camera that has a 360-degree field of view, by Samsung.

Play VR, a local small VR contents company, also grabbed the attention of visitors with its latest VR content in the form of 360 pictures ranging from games to simulations.

"The company tries to create the best VR content and wants to expand to the global market by building up its technology base," said a Play VR official.

South Korea's biggest telecom companies, including top mobile carrier SK Telecom and its smaller rival KT Corp., presented the new fifth-generation network as well as self-driving cars.

SK Telecom also featured technologies for self-driving automobiles connected to the 5G network and showcased AI services that can help users in their everyday lives and provide IoT solutions.

Not only big firms, but also promising startups and mid-sized companies presented the technology, wanting to draw attention to potential buyers.

The ministry said this year's show is focused on strengthening ICT partnerships between startups and big firms to create a healthy business ecosystem.

Last year's show resulted into a total of US$157 million worth of deals between global and local firms, the ministry said. (Yonhap)