Jeonnam Province Accelerates Development of New Growth Engine in Advanced Ceramic Industry Region

Promotion of 'Specialized Complex for Materials, Parts, and Equipment'

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 8th that it has officially started efforts to attract a ‘Materials, Parts, and Equipment Specialized Complex’ to foster the ‘advanced ceramics’ industry, estimated to reach a scale of 70 trillion won by 2025, as a new regional growth engine.

The goal is to attract 100 companies by 2030 and achieve sales of 3 trillion won.

Advanced ceramics differ from traditional ceramics such as porcelain and refractories by using high-purity raw materials refined from minerals.

They exhibit excellent heat resistance, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, insulation, and biocompatibility compared to metal and chemical materials, emerging as core materials in national future strategic industries such as semiconductors, displays, automobiles, energy, and biomedical fields.

The province plans to nurture advanced ceramics as a future strategic industry by attracting the ‘Materials, Parts, and Equipment Specialized Complex’ promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy this year.

To this end, it is preparing a development plan in anticipation of the ministry’s consulting and public contest scheduled for the second half of the year.

If designated as a ‘Materials, Parts, and Equipment Specialized Complex,’ it can receive government support for research and development, commercialization promotion, startups, workforce training, demonstration facilities, and performance verification infrastructure.

Based on this, the plan is to cluster advanced ceramics companies and research institutes in the Mokpo Ceramic Industrial Complex, Daeyang Industrial Complex, and Yeongam Daebul National Industrial Complex.

The vision is to nurture 100 advanced ceramics companies by 2030 and increase the localization rate of advanced ceramic raw materials, developing the southwestern region of Jeonnam into a global supply base for ceramic raw materials with annual sales of 3 trillion won.

Since 2007, with a total project cost of 83.7 billion won, the ‘Ceramic Comprehensive Support Center’ was established in the Mokpo Ceramic Industrial Complex, equipped with facilities to test, evaluate, and manufacture ceramic raw materials and prototypes, uniquely in Korea.

In particular, through the ‘Ceramic Industry Ecosystem Creation Project’ started in 2015, it has focused on supporting research and development and mass production of products by small and medium enterprises that could not afford expensive large-scale testing and production equipment.

More than 120 companies nationwide have received a total of 174 tests, evaluations, and demonstration tests, leading to product production that generated 256.6 billion won in new sales and 853 new jobs.

Currently, 18 companies reside in the tenant company building, and 6 companies in the commercialization support building, with 7 companies attracted to establish manufacturing lines in Jeonnam.

In 2019, it actively responded to Japan’s export restrictions on materials and parts.

Ceramic industrial complex investment attraction companies such as Sewon Hardfacing Co., Ltd., Phospho, and Seokgyeong AT succeeded in domestic production of five types of ceramic raw materials that had been entirely dependent on imports, including semiconductor/display process equipment coating powders, ultra-pure alumina for precision lenses, phosphors for LEDs, and heat dissipation materials, drawing attention.

Among ceramic raw materials, alumina, the most widely used, accounts for 96% of the national production volume.

Also, in line with the 4th Industrial Revolution era, a project is underway to build the Ceramic Comprehensive Support Center as a smart factory testbed, with a total project cost of 8 billion won, to be completed by next year, aiming for the smartization of the ceramic industry.

Joo Soon-seon, Director of the Strategic Industry Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “The success of the advanced ceramics industry depends on the advancement of raw materials and manufacturing technology innovation. Since Jeonnam has a comparative advantage, we will actively support attracting a materials, parts, and equipment specialized complex to the southwestern region of Jeonnam so that local ceramic companies can be competitive in the global market.”

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