Korea's ICT industry is expected to suffer a limited impact from Britain's departure from the European Union in the short term, given its relatively smaller portion against its overall shipment, a senior government official said Monday.

Choi Jae-you, vice minister of science, ICT and future planning, pointed out that Britain accounts for merely 0.7 percent of South Korea's ICT-related exports. ICT is an acronym for information and communication technology.

The volume of South Korea's direct investment into Britain's ICT sector stood at around $300 million between 2000 and 2015, according to the ministry. "In the short term, Brexit will have a limited impact on South Korea's ICT industry," Choi told reporters. 

But it may have some negative effect in the long haul if instability in the financial market and weaker investor sentiment are protracted, he added.
The government will closely monitor conditions for ICT exports in order to take swift and appropriate measures to minimize Brexit's impact, Choi said.

Korea shipped 54 percent of its total ICT export goods to China in 2015, 14 percent to Southeast Asian nations, 10 percent to North America and 5.9 percent to the EU.

Korea's main competitors in the global ICT market are China and the U.S., not European countries. (Yonhap)