"Strengthening Competitiveness of SoBuJang Root Industries"... Ministry of Industry and Korea Federation of SMEs 'Milk Run Agreement Ceremony'

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] On the 23rd, Sung Yoon-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, attended the '2020 Advanced Materials, Parts, and Root Industry Technology Exhibition' and the 'Root Company Milk Run Agreement Ceremony,' held both online and offline, and stated, "We will invest about 2.5 trillion KRW next year to strengthen the competitiveness of the materials, parts, and root industry."

This agreement ceremony is the first fruit of the 'Tripartite Cooperation System MOU for Cooperation and Support of the Root Industry,' signed in May by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology. Attending the ceremony were Minister Sung, Kim Ki-moon, President of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Park Hwa-seok, Chairman of the Korea Mold Industry Promotion Association. Lee Nak-gyu, President of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, and Lee Doo-hyung, CEO of Jinyang, participated online.

The Korea Federation of SMEs explained that this Milk Run project "will enable diversification of the global supply chain and rapid supply of mold raw materials for 24 mold companies located in the Gwangju Mold Complex," adding, "It can reduce logistics costs by 40%." They also stated, "We plan to expand not only the Gwangju mold specialized complex but also to other regions and root industries to increase the added value and competitiveness of root companies."

Minister Sung emphasized, "In a situation where our economy faces new uncertainties, fundamental technological innovation and industrial structural innovation in manufacturing are necessary," adding, "At the center of this is the materials, parts, and root industry, which is the foundation of manufacturing." He also stated, "We will aggressively and proactively promote the growth of the entire materials, parts, and root ecosystem and the transition of the root industry to a future-oriented structure."

President Kim said, "The global supply chain system of the root industry is very unstable," and added, "Starting with the Gwangju regional mold complex, we will actively support the nationwide expansion of the Milk Run project through about 1,000 cooperatives using a joint purchasing method."

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