Korea SMEs and Startups Agency Supports Industry-Specific Smart Factories... "Up to 100 Million KRW for New Projects"

Headquarters of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz) announced on the 9th that it is recruiting companies to participate in the '2020 Smart Factory Construction Support Project.'

This project is being promoted through the large and small win-win smart factory construction support and industry-specific specialized smart factory projects. The large and small win-win smart factory construction support project has been jointly conducted by Kbiz, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and Samsung Electronics since 2018. To drive smart manufacturing innovation, Samsung Electronics supports 10 billion KRW annually for five years, and the government also supports 10 billion KRW annually, totaling 100 billion KRW.

This year, participating small and medium enterprises can receive project funding ranging from up to 60 million KRW to 100 million KRW depending on the type. Small enterprises can receive full support of up to 20 million KRW. Companies located in crisis management areas, companies employing disabled persons, root companies, and companies participating in workplace innovation consulting are given preferential treatment.

In particular, this year, to overcome the mask shortage caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), smart factory construction will be promptly supported for mask manufacturing companies applying for the project.

The industry-specific specialized smart factory project is newly launched this year by Kbiz and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It is a project that supports the construction of smart factories commonly for small and medium enterprises and mid-sized companies with similar manufacturing processes or industries.

Within 50% of the total project cost, new construction can receive up to 100 million KRW, and for advancement, up to 150 million KRW in project funding can be supported. Labor costs for personnel involved in the project can be included in the project cost within 20% of the company's contribution.

Small and medium enterprise cooperatives with industry-specific member companies can submit letters of intent on behalf of interested member companies, discover common solutions, and manage projects. Cooperatives are also included as project targets and can receive smartization support.

Kim Gi-moon, Chairman of Kbiz, said, "Since 2018, through the large and small win-win smart factory construction project, we have strengthened the smart capabilities of small and medium enterprises, and we will continue to strive to spread manufacturing innovation among SMEs." He added, "We plan to post excellent construction casebooks and YouTube videos on the Kbiz website to help companies that introduce smart factories."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.