Unitechno and Samwon FA Awarded Gold Tower Industrial Medal at Small and Medium Business Convention

Awards Presented to a Total of 91 Companies and 385 Items

Lee Jwayoung, CEO of Unitecno (left), and Hong Wonpyo, CEO of Samwon FA (right). Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Lee Jwayoung, CEO of Unitecno, is a small and medium-sized entrepreneur who has devoted 41 years to automotive parts research. Starting with Ilsin Industry in 1979, he overcame three business failures and founded Unitecno. Unitecno is a specialized company in automotive electronic plastic parts, producing various products through the manufacturing of special high-performance plastics blended with minerals, carbon, glass fibers, and ultra-precision injection technology. CEO Lee consistently invests 4% of total sales in research and development, operating an in-house technology research institute.

Hong Wonpyo, CEO of Samwon FA, is a technology expert who pioneered domestic factory automation by introducing programmable logic controller (PLC) technology for the first time in Korea. Samwon FA independently developed technology that installs complex wiring structures of manufacturing equipment with one touch. Based on this, Samwon FA entered the field of traffic information and communication technology (ICT) and expanded into the payment system business, supplying this to over 15,000 taxis in 50 U.S. cities, securing growth momentum for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Unitecno, a specialized company in automotive electronic plastic parts, and Samwon FA, a specialized company in industrial automatic control systems, were awarded the Gold Tower Industrial Medal at the '2020 Korea Small and Medium Business Entrepreneurs Convention.'

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs held the Korea Small and Medium Business Entrepreneurs Convention on the 4th at the Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul. Now in its 31st year, the convention honors individuals who have contributed to national economic development and job creation. Although usually held in May every year, this year's event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and held this month. A total of 91 small and medium enterprises (including organizations and institutions) received awards for their contributions to national economic development, including the Gold and Silver Tower Industrial Medals and Presidential and Prime Minister commendations.

The Silver Tower Industrial Medal was awarded to three companies: Ilkwang Metal (CEO Kim Malcheol), Shindok (CEO Park Jongan), and Wolseong Electronics (CEO Kim Kyuhyung). The Bronze Tower Industrial Medal was awarded to four companies: KD Chem (CEO Min Namgyu), Kyungbang Shinyak (CEO Kim Choonghwan), Darwin Friction (CEO Jo Junghwan), and Seokyung Brazing (CEO Shin Youngsik).

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in his congratulatory speech, "Amid difficult domestic and international conditions such as the COVID-19 crisis and the U.S.-China trade conflict, I congratulate the achievements of the small and medium business sector and will concentrate government support capabilities to strengthen SMEs' innovation capacity, promote win-win cooperation, and expand the enthusiasm for startups and ventures."

Park Youngsun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We will do our best to digitalize our small and medium enterprises by laying the foundation for SMEs and small business owners to leap into the digital economy, preparing for the post-COVID era through AI and manufacturing data innovation, fostering non-face-to-face SMEs, and promoting the digitalization of small business owners."

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