Seok Young-cheol KIAT Director "Preparing for a Major Industrial Structure Transformation in the Post-Corona Era"

"Presentation of 'Three Major Focus Tasks for This Year'
Fostering New Industries, Revitalizing Key Industries, Strengthening Competitiveness of Materials, Parts, and Equipment
"Preparing for a Major Industrial Structure Transformation in the Post-Corona Era""

Seok Young-cheol, President of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT). (Photo by Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chae-seok] Seok Young-cheol, President of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), stated on the 8th, "We will promote the digitalization of all industries," and presented three key focus areas for this year.

At a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the same day, President Seok announced that this year they will focus on ▲ fostering and revitalizing new industries ▲ enhancing the vitality of core industries ▲ strengthening the competitiveness of the materials, parts, and equipment industry.

President Seok explained, "Following Japan's export restrictions on key materials and the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become important to create a sustainable industrial ecosystem that can withstand any crisis," adding, "We will provide comprehensive support measures necessary for a major industrial structural transformation."

First, they will help various new industries enter the market quickly. In particular, the contactless (untact) industry is viewed as 'digital contact advancement,' and the 'digitalization of all industries' will be promoted.

To establish a growth strategy, an Industrial Intelligence team was newly created in February. Industrial intelligence refers to all activities that utilize foundational technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data across industries to increase the added value of products and services and innovate manufacturing processes.

They will invest 9 billion KRW in building an industrial data platform. Based on data from major industries, they will discover business models suitable for commercialization. They will also support the enactment of the Industrial Intelligence Special Act (tentative name).

The 'Corporate Vitality Support Task Force (TF),' established in April, provides policy support when companies attempt to enter new industries as part of business restructuring.

Efforts will be concentrated on operating the regulatory sandbox system effectively. They will actively identify regulatory difficulties in industries such as AI, big data, bio, and mobility. Through the 'Regulatory Sandbox Support Team,' established in February, they will strengthen post-management such as demonstration and commercialization support.

They will assist in improving the structure of existing core industries. They will invest 30.5 billion KRW to promote regional vitality projects. Through this, they will support companies facing difficulties due to the deterioration of the core manufacturing base in 11 regions including Gangwon, Chungcheong, and Daegu-Gyeongbuk by securing orders, diversifying businesses, and fostering new industries.

567 billion KRW will be spent on building a smart specialization foundation. From this year, comprehensive support such as equipment support, technology support (prototype production), and training of specialized personnel for testing, evaluation, and certification equipment will be provided to companies in 14 metropolitan cities and provinces for industrial structure advancement, diversification, and transformation. 39.7 billion KRW will be invested in talent development.

They will spend 15.9 billion KRW on shipbuilding, 13.8 billion KRW on automobiles, and 10 billion KRW on semiconductors. Support will be provided for youth employment, reemployment placement for workers retired due to restructuring, and assistance to companies in technology, commercialization, and labor costs.

Efforts will also be made to strengthen the competitiveness of the materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) industry and diversify the global value chain (GVC). The 'Materials and Parts Division' has been renamed the 'Materials, Parts, and Equipment Division,' and 10 additional staff members have been added.

According to the 'Special Measures Act for Strengthening the Competitiveness of the Materials, Parts, and Equipment Industry,' enacted in April, they will create specialized complexes and operate corporate support desks.

They will invest 81 billion KRW in the Materials and Parts Convergence Alliance project. 33 billion KRW will be allocated to building infrastructure for reliability evaluation of core materials and parts, and 40 billion KRW will be invested in establishing test beds for performance testing of items.

They will also spend 40 billion KRW on supporting mass production performance evaluation. 27 billion KRW will be invested in a virtual engineering platform, 7 billion KRW in developing and distributing materials and parts simulation software (SW), and 20 billion KRW in building a big data platform for material development.

They plan to design major SoBuJang projects in collaboration with the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Belgium's research institute imec, Germany's Fraunhofer, and pursue establishing a German technology cooperation base through the Korea-Germany Technology Cooperation Center.

President Seok said, "In the post-COVID era, structural reforms that can promote long-term growth are essential for sustainable innovation despite crises," adding, "We will do our best to create the foundation suitable for industrial structural transformation."

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