Qualitative Growth, Not Quantitative... Smart Factory 'Great Transformation'

'Announcement of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Execution Strategy'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Policies related to the dissemination, expansion, and post-management of smart factories will shift from a focus on quantitative distribution to qualitative advancement. This aims to support manufacturing innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based on artificial intelligence (AI) and data.

On the 12th, the government announced the "Smart Manufacturing Innovation Implementation Strategy," which includes these details, at the 117th National Policy Issue Inspection and Coordination Meeting. This strategy is a follow-up execution plan to the "Smart Manufacturing 2.0 Strategy," which presented a future blueprint for AI- and data-based smart manufacturing as part of the Korean Digital New Deal in July.

Smart manufacturing innovation is a core government national agenda, aiming to distribute 30,000 smart factories by 2022. Approximately 20,000 have been distributed so far this year, contributing to the expansion of smart manufacturing among SMEs. Visible results such as a 30% increase in productivity and a 15% reduction in costs have also been observed in adopting companies.

The key directions of this strategy are threefold: promoting qualitative advancement through restructuring the distribution system, expanding the use of AI-centered manufacturing data, and generating continuous results through strengthened post-management. Specifically, by 2025, the plan is to support the establishment of 1,000 state-of-the-art "5G+AI Smart Factories" that combine 5th generation (5G) technology and AI solutions, and 100 "K-Smart Lighthouse Factories" representing various industries. Additionally, 100 "Digital Clusters" connecting smart factories in industrial complexes and similar industries through networks will be established by 2025. To cultivate 15,000 specialized personnel for smart factory advancement including AI, new SME contract departments and AI education programs will be introduced.

Furthermore, based on an AI manufacturing platform, the distribution of cloud-based smart factory solutions will be activated, and the "Smart Factory No.1 Platform," which comprehensively supports all smart factory projects online?from construction to post-management and advancement?will be established. Kim Il-ho, Head of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Planning Group at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "To implement the more advanced Smart Manufacturing 2.0 policy based on AI and data, it is necessary to restructure the entire policy system from the smart factory distribution project to post-management with a focus on qualitative advancement. This strategy will further spread the qualitative achievements of manufacturing innovation and serve as a foundation for realizing a digital powerhouse."

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