'Strategy Products: 197 Selected for "SME Technology Stage-by-Stage Implementation Plan"'

Reflecting the Technology Development Demand of SMEs and National Interest

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Park Young-sun, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 10th that it has selected 30 fields and 197 strategic products as the '2021-2023 SME Technology Development Step-by-Step Implementation Plan' (hereinafter referred to as the SME Technology Roadmap) to present the direction of technology development for future promising technologies of small and medium enterprises.

Since 2010, the Ministry has established the SME Technology Roadmap based on the technology demands of SMEs and large enterprises, designating strategic technology development tasks such as the 'Startup Growth Technology Development Project,' and provides approximately 150 billion KRW annually to the selected projects. This year, to promote the commercialization of SME technology development, additional activities such as the 'National Technology Demand Survey' and 'Online Open Discussion' were conducted targeting the general public, through which 8,563 technology development opinions were received, including 1,326 opinions from the general public.

The industry-academia-research expert committee, composed of company representatives, professors, and venture investors, evaluated the proposed technology development products focusing on SME technology development suitability, marketability, and import dependency, and after coordination and integration with existing strategic products, 30 fields and 197 strategic products were finally selected.

Procedure for Promoting the Technology Roadmap for Small and Medium Enterprises

The main features of the selected strategic products this year include the addition of the 'medical device' field due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the new selection of five fields such as 'disaster and safety,' 'electric and hydrogen vehicles,' 'eco-friendly and resource circulation,' and 'semiconductor and display equipment' due to natural disasters and the Green New Deal policy. The Ministry plans to utilize the selected 197 strategic products as a compass for strategic technology development investment by SMEs by deriving core technologies through analysis of domestic and international technology markets and patents, and setting three-year development goals for each technology. The finalized technology roadmap will be provided through the 'SME Technology Roadmap website,' where detailed lists of the currently selected 30 fields and 197 strategic products can also be found.

Won Young-jun, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry, said, "In this year's pilot national demand survey, many technology ideas closely related to daily life were discovered, and we will increase opportunities for public participation in the technology roadmap establishment process going forward," adding, "We will also expand the scale of projects linked to support technology development to back up SMEs' technology development investments."

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