Ministry of Industry Signs Cooperation MOU on Root Industry with Korea Federation of SMEs and Saenggi Institute

Discovering 20 Billion KRW Worth of Materials, Parts, and Equipment Industry-Academic Cooperation Targets... "Policy, Issue Discovery, and Technical Support Collaboration"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government and related organizations have joined forces to establish a next-generation root industry ecosystem. For the first time this year, 20 billion KRW will be invested to discover support targets for the materials, parts, and equipment industry-academia cooperation group.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 28th at 3 p.m. that it will sign a "Root Industry Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)." The event, held at the Root Technology Support Center in Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, will be attended by Minister Sung Yun-mo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Lee Nak-gyu, President of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology.

This MOU is the first official tripartite agreement conducted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will build a next-generation root industry ecosystem. The Korea Federation of SMEs will discover root companies eligible for support from the newly established materials, parts, and equipment industry-academia cooperation group this year. The Korea Institute of Industrial Technology will provide on-site support.

The materials, parts, and equipment industry-academia cooperation group support project is a program that resolves corporate difficulties based on root technologies possessed by universities. By next month, the Korea Federation of SMEs plans to discover and recommend companies facing difficulties.

Following the MOU, a meeting will be held with chairpersons of root industry associations such as surface treatment and mold. They will listen to difficulties and jointly consider public-private cooperation measures.

The chairpersons of the root industry associations proposed incentives for companies excelling in delivery price adjustments, establishment of a specialized education center for root industry professionals, improvement of the root industry support system, and dedicated policy fund support for the root industry.

Among these, the establishment of the education center, provision of incentives for companies excelling in delivery price adjustments, and improvement of the support system will be positively pursued, while dedicated funds will be reviewed in the mid-to-long term.

Minister Sung emphasized, "In the process of reorganizing the global value chain (GVC) due to the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it is important to establish a stable supply chain domestically. It is a grave situation where we must seek fundamental changes in the root industry in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

He added, "The government is preparing short-term measures to resolve difficulties caused by COVID-19 for root companies as well as plans to strengthen the competitiveness of the next-generation root industry, and will announce them soon after collecting industry opinions."

Chairman Kim said, "The Korea Federation of SMEs will also cooperate to ensure that the diverse voices from root companies are reflected in policies."

President Lee stated, "Taking this agreement as an opportunity, we will strengthen the on-site support system to solve technical difficulties of root companies."

Meanwhile, before the meeting, Minister Sung visited Dongwon Parts, a semiconductor equipment root company, to encourage its executives and employees.

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