8 out of 10 Smart Factories Nationwide Are in the 'Basic Stage'

Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon: "Efforts Needed to Achieve Practical Advancement and Eliminate Regional Disparities"

Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Eight out of ten domestic smart factories remain at the basic stage, and regional concentration is also revealed to be severe.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to National Assembly Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee member Shin Jeong-hoon (Democratic Party, Naju-Hwasun) on the 5th, among the 7,398 smart factories nationwide last year, only 99, or 1.3% of the total, were at the ‘Intermediate 2’ stage.

The Smart Manufacturing Innovation Group under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups classifies smart factories according to the level of advancement: the ‘Basic’ stage, which allows production monitoring; the ‘Intermediate 1’ stage, which enables basic control based on collected information; the ‘Intermediate 2’ stage, which achieves process optimization through pre-simulation; and the ‘Advanced’ stage, which allows autonomous operation through artificial intelligence.

Among domestic smart factories, 5,599 are at the basic stage, accounting for nearly 80% of the total. The Intermediate 1 stage accounts for 1,311 factories, or 19%. Currently, only 99 factories, or 1.3% of the total, are at the highest level introduced domestically, the Intermediate 2 stage. There are no factories at the Advanced stage yet.

Meanwhile, it was confirmed that 72.5% of the 7,398 smart factories nationwide are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area and the Yeongnam region, indicating a serious regional concentration phenomenon.

In particular, 31.3% of the ‘Intermediate 2’ stage smart factories are located in Gyeonggi Province, and 20.2% are concentrated in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, while only 2% are distributed in Jeonnam, and there is not a single one in Jeonbuk or Gangwon.

Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon said, “The majority of smart factories still remain at the basic stage, and regional concentration is also severe. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups should not only focus on the quantitative expansion of smart factories but also strive to achieve substantial advancement and resolve regional disparities.”

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