Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- Chinese tech giant Huawei will open a 5G technology lab in South Korea in an apparent bid to collect data in a country which has moved aggressively to establish a nationwide 5G network for the first time in the world.

 "Huawei will open a 5G technology lab in South Korea in May," a Huawei official told Aju News. The date was not fixed, but the official said that Huawei has tried to establish three 5G technology labs in Asia, Europe and the Middle East and create a 5G ecosystem through collaboration with local companies for the development and localization of 5G technologies.

Huawei became the target of a U.S.-led boycott in 2018 after the United States government and related organizations raised allegations that Huawei equipment, including backbone network infrastructure and handsets, have security risks which could lead to leaks of vital information including personal and industrial information.

Despite a call from the United States to boycott Huawei's equipment and backbone network infrastructure, South Korean mobile carrier LGU+ adopted Huawei's equipment to establish a 5G network, saying it had no problem when using Huawei's equipment for 4G services. The European Commission acknowledged U.S. concerns but left member states to assess security threats.

At this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, Huawei chairman Guo Ping argued it is not spying on users' information on behalf of the Chinese government.