Ministry of SMEs and Startups Supports R&D Excellent Innovative Products' Entry into Public Market

36 New 'Outstanding R&D Innovative Products' Designated in the First Half of 2022

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 6th that it has newly designated 36 'Excellent R&D Innovative Products for the First Half of 2022' to promote innovative growth and initial market support through the entry of excellent innovative products from small and medium enterprises into the public market.

The Ministry designates products developed as a result of small and medium enterprise research and development (R&D) that excel in innovation and public value as 'Excellent R&D Innovative Products' to support early market entry of SMEs through public sector direct contracts and pilot purchases. Since 2020, about 100 innovative products have been discovered and supported annually to facilitate the rapid entry of excellent R&D innovative products into the public market.

Among the 189 innovative products designated by the Ministry so far, 115 (61%) have achieved a total public procurement sales record of 93.8 billion KRW and export performance of 13.71 million USD over two years. In the first half of this year, 36 products were finally selected from about 100 applicants through the first innovative product designation announcement and evaluation.

Non-contact radar sensor

The newly designated innovative products consist of innovations expected to be utilized in various public sectors recently highlighted in our society, such as industrial safety, energy and environment, and non-face-to-face medical care in the COVID-19 era. A representative example is the 'Non-contact Radar Sensor for Biometric Signal Monitoring,' which detects biometric signals such as heart rate and respiration to identify emergency situations, recognized for its innovation in non-face-to-face health management for vulnerable groups such as people with severe disabilities and elderly living alone.

The newly designated products will be registered in the Innovation Market in July and can be directly contracted with the public sector without a limit on the amount for three years. They will also receive various market support benefits such as exemption from liability for purchasing officers in case of losses from purchases and pilot purchases by government departments including the Ministry and the Public Procurement Service.

Jang Dae-gyo, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry, said, "Innovative products discovered through this system are expected to play a significant role not only in social infrastructure but also in improving public convenience and innovative public services applied throughout citizens' lives." He added, "We plan to further strengthen the promotion and market support of excellent innovative products, including pilot purchase support and purchase consultation meetings for public institutions, so that various innovative products can be widely introduced in the public sector."

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