South Korea's digital signage industry could create 70,000 jobs and generate 10.1 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in production by 2020, a local think tank said Monday.

The Korea Economic Research Institute made the prediction in a report on the smart advertising industry.

Digital signage refers to display devices that show advertisements and information in public or commercial areas through networks. Last year, South Korea accounted for 19 percent of the global digital signage market.

The South Korean government said last year that it will spend 78.9 billion won on nurturing the digital signage industry in line with its efforts to foster new growth engines.

Kim Young-shin, a research fellow at the Korea Economic Research Institute, called for cutting red tape in the smart advertising industry, citing rapid progress in the industry, including digital signage, in line with technological progress in information and communications technology.

Kim also asked the government to quickly designate areas where outdoor advertising panels can be freely set up.

The government is set to designate the areas by the end of this year and allow people to set up outdoor advertising panels, beginning next year. (Yonhap)