Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Provide Up to 1.2 Billion KRW Support for 'K-Smart Lighthouse Factory'

An Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is carrying products and moving at the LS Electric Cheongju Smart Factory.
[Photo by LS Electric]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is recruiting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies that wish to participate in the 'K-Smart Lighthouse Factory' development project, which supports the establishment of advanced intelligent (smart) factories based on artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and digital replicas (digital twins).

The K-Smart Lighthouse Factory is a leading smart factory centered on SMEs and mid-sized companies, benchmarking global lighthouse factories such as BMW, Bosch, Siemens, POSCO, and LS Electric, which are selected mainly for large corporations by the World Economic Forum (WEF). It is expected to be a factory that will innovatively lead the future of global manufacturing.

The 'K-Smart Lighthouse Factory Development Project' is a program designed to present the direction for the advancement of domestic manufacturing at the highest level of smart factory stages and to spread exemplary cases of smart factories.

Eligibility requires SMEs and mid-sized companies aiming to build advanced smart factories where manufacturing processes are analyzed and controlled in real-time through artificial intelligence. Interested companies must first apply with a recommendation from the manufacturing innovation center in their region, with each regional Technopark (TP) able to recommend up to five candidate companies.

The selection criteria for the K-Smart Lighthouse Factory include evaluation of advancement, sustainability, and industrial and economic ripple effects. A total of 15 companies representing their industries will be selected, with support of up to 400 million KRW per year per company, and a maximum of 1.2 billion KRW over three years.

In particular, to help excellent SMEs leap into the global market, more than 50% (at least 8 companies) of the selected companies will be SMEs.

Selected companies will receive support to build smart factories equipped with advanced solutions such as AI and 5G, based on customized precision diagnosis and strategy establishment conducted by specialized institutions.

Park Jong-chan, head of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Planning Group at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We will foster 100 K-Smart Lighthouse Factories by 2025 to rapidly spread leading models of manufacturing innovation."

Detailed information about the support project can be found on the Ministry of SMEs and Startups website or on the 'Smart Factory 1st Street' operated by the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Promotion Group affiliated with the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs. Applications can be submitted online through Smart Factory 1st Street, and the application period is until the 21st of next month.

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