Joint International Development of 180 Technologies Including Semiconductor Packaging, Ministry of Trade Invests 1.9 Trillion Won

Government Announces 'Global Technology Cooperation Strategy' for Open Industrial R&D

Minister Bang Moon-kyu of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is presiding over the Global Technology Cooperation Comprehensive Strategy Corporate Meeting held on the 5th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

To rapidly secure 80 'ultra-gap critical technologies' that represent vulnerabilities in the value chains of South Korea's key industries, such as semiconductor packaging, the government is opening industrial research and development (R&D) to foreign institutions. To develop 100 of Korea's 'next-generation growth technologies' including rare-earth-free permanent magnets for electric vehicle motors, artificial intelligence (AI) computing, and cell regeneration new drugs, joint research will be promoted with world-class research institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

On the 5th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the 'Comprehensive Strategy for Global Technology Cooperation' at a meeting of chief technology officers (CTOs) from major companies held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, chaired by Minister Bang Moon-kyu. Attendees included corporate representatives such as Lee Jong-su, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Company; Hwang Yoon-il, Vice President of CJ CheilJedang; Kim Yoon-chang, Vice President of Samsung SDI; Kang Seok-cheol, CTO of Hanwha Aerospace; Jang Kwang-pil, Head of Research Institute at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries; and Kwak Yong-jae, CTO of Naver Cloud.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy presented a major direction to expand the proportion of international cooperation in industrial R&D, which accounted for less than 6% of the 5.7 trillion won industrial R&D budget this year, to over 15% by 2018. The goal is to quickly secure technologies that are difficult to develop domestically alone through joint research with overseas research institutions.

The expansion of international cooperation in industrial R&D will be promoted mainly in two areas: 80 ultra-gap critical technologies and 100 industrial source technologies.

First, the ultra-gap critical technology development targets are core technologies urgently needed to secure vulnerabilities in the value chain, despite Korean companies having competitiveness in finished products such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, bio, and robotics. The goal is commercialization within a relatively short period of five years. Next year, 148.7 billion won will be invested to initiate development of 48 technologies, with a total investment of 1.2 trillion won by 2030.

The Ministry cited semiconductor packaging technology, which integrates heterogeneous semiconductor chips to maximize performance, as an example of an ultra-gap critical technology that can be secured through cooperation with the United States, Taiwan, and others, estimating an investment of 100 billion won for development.

The government has preliminarily selected a list of 95 candidate technologies through discussions centered on domestic experts, including ultra-high-resolution pixel technology for extended reality (XR) micro-displays, lithium-sulfur battery electrode technology, nucleic acid therapeutics development such as mRNA, and carbon steel technology for next-generation small modular reactors (SMRs).

The development of 100 industrial source technologies focuses on creating Korea's 'next-generation growth engines' with commercialization targeted within 10 years, including rare-earth-free permanent magnets for electric vehicle motors, next-generation AI computing, semiconductors, and cell regeneration new drugs. Next year, 66.5 billion won will be invested to start R&D on 50 projects, with a total of 687 billion won invested by 2028.

Based on domestic corporate demand, cooperation systems will be established with the world's top research institutions possessing source technologies in each field. 'Industrial Technology Cooperation Centers' will be established at top research institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University.

The government plans to dispatch domestic researchers to overseas institutions to participate directly in research and make it mandatory for companies to secure intellectual property (IP) licensing rights to use jointly developed technologies. Approximately 1.9 trillion won will be invested to secure a total of 180 technologies through such international joint R&D.

When selecting targets for international joint research support, the government intends to identify technologies that absolutely require international cooperation through multi-layered verification such as anonymous expert evaluations. After selecting supported projects, an advisory committee composed of top experts in each field will conduct biannual interim research reviews, and if a project is deemed insincere, support will be discontinued, thereby strengthening the management system, the government explained.

In addition to the 180 projects, the government plans to promote a preliminary feasibility study project worth about 1 trillion won, aiming to start in 2025, to secure 10 'game changer technologies' that will replace existing key industries, such as customized artificial organs and hyper-realistic spatial computing.

Korea's national R&D budget reached 31 trillion won as of this year. The Ministry of Science and ICT manages the largest portion, about 9.7 trillion won, focusing on basic fields, while the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy manages about 5.7 trillion won, focusing on projects with high industrial applicability. Minister Bang Moon-kyu stated, "It is true that government R&D has been criticized for underperformance relative to investment scale. To shift our economy from a follower to a leader, it is urgent to innovate the national R&D system and enhance industrial dynamism through open innovation and global cooperation."

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