Lee Young Participates in Davos Forum Session Emphasizing "SME Digital Transformation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, emphasized the importance of digital transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including the establishment of smart factories, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF, Davos Forum).

On the 19th (local time), Minister Lee participated as a panelist in the 'The Future of Industrial Policy' session at the Davos Forum held in Switzerland, discussing future strategies for the manufacturing ecosystem.

In the session, Minister Lee discussed agendas to revitalize the manufacturing ecosystem amid global issues such as climate change, supply chain crises, and technological innovation, together with public and private representatives from around the world.

He stated that the foremost necessity is the digital transformation of SMEs, enabling improvements in carbon emission processes and automation of labor-shortage processes.

Minister Lee said, "We have established 30,000 smart factories up to last year," adding, "Going forward, we will build advanced smart factories capable of big data utilization of manufacturing data and value chain connectivity, and also create a manufacturing data trading market."

Regarding the climate crisis, he said, "Since the level of industrial development varies by country, it is necessary to consider directions that allow developing country companies to participate in carbon neutrality without giving up."

He also added, "Korea is actively promoting measures for corporate decarbonization," and "The accelerated emergence of startups related to eco-friendly technologies such as renewable energy is a strength of Korea."

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