South Korea government wants to switch from Windows to Linux by 2026

The Korean government has released more details about its plans to switch from Windows to Linux. The first workplaces should be transferred this year and most government PCs should be transferred by 2026.

The government of South Korea will introduce the Linux-based operating system in February and plans to equip the first PCs with the OS in October. The commissioning will then take place in phases and by 2026 most government employees will have to work with the open OS. Windows is still allowed for certain activities.

The Korean Daum quotes a government official as saying that by the end of this year, ActiveX plug-ins for Internet Explorer will be disabled and that a browser for the open operating system is being developed. In addition, there will be a desktop-as-a-service environment for government objectives.

It is not clear from the message which Linux-based operating system South Korea wants to use. Daum mentions software used in South Korea as Cloud OS, Harmonica OS and Tmax OS. The Ministry of Defense would already be using the Ubuntu LTS-based Harmonica OS, while the national postal service, Korea Post, would use Tmax OS.

The South Korean government announced last year that it wanted to switch from Windows to Linux. The reason for the decision is the termination of support for Windows 7 by Microsoft and the associated costs. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance said: “We will solve the dependency on a specific company and reduce costs by introducing an open OS.”