Park Jaehyun, President of Sugong, "We Will Create the World's Best Water Industry Ecosystem"

Establishment of Regionally Customized Distributed Demonstration Centers
Introduction of ICT and Provision of Startup Incubation Spaces
Utilized as a Catalyst for Digital Water Industry
Active Support for Investments such as Crowdfunding

Jae-Hyun Park, President of the Korea Water Resources Corporation.

[Daejeon=Asia Economy, Reporter Joo Sang-don] "We will create the most dynamic water industry ecosystem by fostering unicorn companies through full-cycle support of the water industry and leading the localization of ultrapure water technology."

Park Jae-hyun, CEO, whom we met at the Korea Water Resources Corporation headquarters in Daejeon (photo), cited water industry innovation as a key task for this year. He plans to build clusters that can provide startup spaces for water industry-related startups, support investments such as venture and crowdfunding, verify new technologies and product performance, and further assist small and medium venture companies in expanding overseas.

K-water is promoting the establishment of distributed demonstration centers reflecting the characteristics of each region as the first step in creating a water industry ecosystem. CEO Park explained, "Due to the spread of water crises caused by climate change and the acceleration of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the global water industry is transforming into a digital convergence high-tech industry. To respond to the government's digital and green transition demands and foster the rapidly growing innovative water industry, it is necessary to build specialized clusters that combine national and regional capabilities."

The hub-type cluster plans to invest a total of 8.2 billion KRW to improve the old Daedeok Water Purification Plant, which had been out of operation for the past 20 years, and use it as a catalyst for nurturing the digital water industry. Existing sedimentation basins and chemical injection buildings will be transformed into startup and incubation innovation spaces necessary for ICT pipeline demonstration tests and fostering venture and startup companies in the water industry. The dewatering building and water pumping station will be provided as exhibition, cultural spaces, and parks open to residents. In Chuncheon, deep water from Soyanggang Dam will be supplied as thermal energy, and in Hwaseong, a water reuse-centered urban water circulation demonstration center will be established utilizing the Songsan Green City Global Research and Education Center and sewage treatment plant. In this process, local governments will lead the demonstration centers by utilizing infrastructure under their jurisdiction, and K-water will promote synergy through technical and operational support.

Investment support using venture funds and crowdfunding is also underway. Since 2018, K-water has discovered 273 innovative water industry startups and invested 10 billion KRW in the government’s mother fund to serve as a catalyst for water industry investment. Furthermore, by 2030, it plans to create a 200 billion KRW mother fund in cooperation with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and promote the establishment of a 300 billion KRW fund by combining private capital.

CEO Park said, "Over 10 years of operating the water industry mother fund, we will support the growth of about 600 promising startups, foster 10 prospective unicorn companies, and create approximately 1,260 jobs," adding, "We expect to increase corporate value by about 3.5 trillion KRW by 2030." Regarding this, he emphasized, "Since 2019, 11 in-house ventures of K-water have launched and successfully attracted investments totaling 1.05 billion KRW."

Wiflat, which spun off as an in-house venture from K-water in March last year, is attempting overseas expansion by independently developing an 'Intelligent Leakage Management Platform' that enables even non-experts to easily detect leaks using IoT, artificial intelligence, and cloud technologies.

K-water is also promoting multifaceted support in technology development, including performance verification of new technologies and products, joint technology development, and consulting to strengthen the capabilities of water sector venture companies. K-water provides 121 water management facilities nationwide (111 dams and water facilities, 10 research facilities) as testbeds for SMEs to verify the performance of technologies they develop and secure application records. The technical support team, composed of 74 K-water experts, offers systematic technical assistance, which is highly appreciated. Additionally, K-water supports technology development costs and participates directly in technology development projects through commercialization consulting by experts, enabling customized technology commercialization. Through this, last year alone, 58 joint technology development projects including purchase-condition R&D were conducted, creating 1,599 jobs and 183.8 billion KRW in sales for SMEs with K-water performance-certified products.

To support companies struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, K-water helps open sales channels by participating alongside SMEs in overseas exhibitions and localization pilot projects. CEO Park stated, "Through the successful promotion of the leakage detection system pilot project in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, additional export contracts between Thanh Hoa Province and 'Yusol' are underway," and expressed confidence, "This year, we will newly promote a small hydropower pilot project in Japan to lay the foundation for entry into advanced markets." This year, under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, K-water plans to newly promote a smart water network infrastructure construction project in Vietnam with four SMEs and support domestic energy-related companies' entry into emerging markets and overseas project orders.

CEO Park said, "The entry into the climate crisis era triggered by water disasters worldwide is intensifying policy and technology competition necessary for a digital and carbon-neutral society," and added, "As the CEO of K-water, responsible for innovation in the water industry, which is directly linked to the lives of the people and recognized as a future national growth engine, I will strive to make K-water a public enterprise respected by the people."

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