Pohang City Accelerates Selection as Innovation Hub to Foster Digital Leading Companies and Ecosystem

Creativity, Convergence, Innovation, Pohang R&D Capabilities ... Creating a Digital Innovation Enterprise Ecosystem

Pohang and Gyeongbuk Province, 'Super-Regional Hub Information Security Cluster' Construction Public Contest Project

Pohang City is making every effort to be selected for the Ministry of Science and ICT’s ‘Regional Digital Innovation Hub (hereinafter Innovation Hub)’ support project while focusing on fostering companies that will lead the digital transformation and creating an innovative ecosystem.

R&BD institutions established in the Jikok Research Complex area of Pohang. (Aerial photo)

The city is building an ecosystem to lead digital innovation based on abundant advanced science R&D infrastructure.

Every year, about 3,000 outstanding software-related talents graduate from institutions such as POSTECH, Handong University, Sunrin University, and Polytechnic University in Pohang. They nurture their dreams of becoming digital innovation leaders at excellent R&D institutions mainly located in the Jigok-dong area of Nam-gu, including the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Membrane Protein Research Center, Bio Open Innovation Center, Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, Nano Convergence Technology Institute, and Korea Institute of Robot Convergence.

The Jigok-dong area of Nam-gu, where the Innovation Hub is being promoted, was designated as a Small but Strong R&D Special Zone in 2019 and is home to many digital companies with innovative technologies such as Strad Vision and OneSoftDime.

‘Strad Vision’ is an AI-based video recognition software development startup that received the ‘2022 Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award’ from the global market research firm Frost & Sullivan. It is recognized for its technology and business potential in the fields of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving recognition software.

OneSoftDime is a company that provides IoT-converged portable body composition analyzers and health management content. It participated in ‘CES 2023’ this year and received the Innovation Award for its ‘Pitrus Lite,’ gaining recognition for its excellent bio and healthcare technology.

The ‘Regional Digital Innovation Hub’ is a pilot project promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT targeting two regions nationwide this year, with Pohang City and Gyeongbuk Province applying for the competition. If selected as a pilot project, from this year until 2025, 6.3 billion KRW of national funds will be invested to build digital infrastructure and company cluster spaces, and a digital alliance of industry, academia, research, and government will be formed to support R&BD collaboration.

In the future, if the scale of projects subject to preliminary feasibility studies expands, Pohang is expected to serve as a hub, with surrounding areas?Gumi (electronics), Gyeongsan (auto parts), Andong (bio production), and Gimcheon (logistics)?as four spoke regions, contributing to the development of the digital industry throughout Gyeongbuk and balanced national development.

Locally, it is expected to play a pivotal role in attracting and growing companies through support such as POSCO Venture Platform-linked company incubating, establishing shared offices in Seoul, and leisure activity support.

Additionally, linked with the National Industrial Complex Smart Green Industrial Complex Major Renovation Project, the region plans to enhance competitiveness by advancing local industries such as steel, materials, and parts industries through smart manufacturing and digital convergence.

Pohang City and Gyeongbuk Province also applied jointly with Daegu City as a consortium for the government’s ‘Super-wide Area Regional Base Information Security Cluster Construction’ project.

This project aims to respond to cyber threats arising from the convergence of regional strategic industries and digital technologies by ensuring safe digital transformation and fostering local talent in information security. If selected, it will receive an initial support of 1.3 billion KRW this year as the first phase, with a total of 22.1 billion KRW supported through 2027.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok said, “Innovative digital transformation in the region is necessary for local growth and leap, which are prerequisites for enhancing national competitiveness. We will do our utmost to nurture the local digital ecosystem and advance key industries so that digital technology creates waves of innovation in markets and industries.”

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