Companies Showcased Productivity Innovation Through AI

The 48th National Productivity Conference
Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit awarded to Shin Yong-moon, CEO of Wonil Special Lecture, and Hong Sung-gil, CEO of Snozen

This year, companies and entrepreneurs who achieved outstanding results in productivity improvement for the development of our country's industry and national economy gathered in one place. This is the National Productivity Conference hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and organized by the Korea Productivity Center. The purpose of this conference is to encourage innovation that systematizes management according to international standards and makes it measurable. Based on this, it discovers and rewards excellent companies that have contributed to raising the competitiveness of Korean companies to the world's highest level through productivity improvement. Especially this year, companies and institutions promoting innovation in manufacturing processes and production systems using artificial intelligence (AI) were awarded, adding significance. Companies that pursued productivity improvement through renewable energy and digital transformation for innovation in materials, parts, equipment, semiconductors, digital, and energy systems were also included in the list of awardees.

On the 7th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Productivity Center held the '48th National Productivity Conference' at the Korea Economic Association Conference Center, attended by about 200 executives and employees from award-winning companies, institutions, and the industrial sector. The National Productivity Conference, which began in 1975, is the most prestigious productivity event in Korea that annually discovers and rewards companies, corporations, organizations, and contributors who have contributed to national economic development through productivity innovation in the industrial field. At this event, 13 contributors and 31 companies and institutions were honored, including Shin Yong-moon, CEO of Wonil Special Steel, and Hong Sung-gil, CEO of Snozen, who received the Silver Tower Industrial Medal, and Choi Woo-jin, Vice President of SK Hynix, who received the Bronze Tower Industrial Medal.

Shin Yong-mun, CEO of Wonil Special Lecture (center), is taking a commemorative photo after receiving the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit from Lee Seung-ryeol, Director General of Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (left), at the 48th National Productivity Conference held at the Korea Economic Association Conference Center on the 7th. Provided by Korea Productivity Center

Shin Yong-moon, CEO of Wonil Special Steel, who received the Silver Tower Industrial Medal, has led innovation in the domestic special steel, heavy plate materials, and mold industries for over 20 years, growing Wonil Special Steel into a mid-sized company. In particular, CEO Shin established factories and research centers in Siheung, Miryang, Jincheon, and Asan consecutively, creating the shortest delivery and manufacturing system. He increased efficiency through digitalization of work and started developing deep learning automated robots, investing a total of 5 billion KRW by 2026, continuing process technology innovation. Additionally, CEO Shin expanded into heavy plate and processing business, forging business, and automotive parts business, establishing a one-stop system that allows customers to receive high-quality products on time, while contributing to the development of the mold industry through affiliated company Shilla Engineering. Through this, sales grew tenfold, and by actively participating in the development of new steel grades reflecting customer needs to manufacturers, he is also contributing to enhancing national competitiveness.

Hong Sung-gil, CEO of Snozen, was recognized for his dedication to developing surfactant technology and building a strong small and medium-sized enterprise with global competitiveness. Snozen succeeded in domesticating chemical products that were previously dependent on imports through independent new technology development. To localize basic raw materials for surfactants, they established a specialized company, contributing to increased production capacity and national competitiveness. They also actively pursued exports. To enter emerging markets and local production, they established factories in Tianjin, China in 1997, Bandung, Indonesia in 1998, and Los Angeles, USA in 2001, expanding export markets to over 30 countries including developed nations. As a result, the export ratio has continuously increased, achieving steady growth from the 1 million USD export tower in 1991 to the 10 million USD export tower award in 2022.

Hong Seong-gil, CEO of Snowgen (center), is taking a commemorative photo after receiving the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit from Lee Seung-ryeol, Director of Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (left), at the 48th National Productivity Conference held at the Korea Economic Association Conference Center on the 7th. Provided by Korea Productivity Center

Choi Woo-jin, Vice President of SK Hynix, received the Bronze Tower Industrial Medal for his contributions to the development and mass production of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). Based on technological innovation, he led the global AI memory semiconductor market, playing a key role in SK Hynix achieving over 50% market share in the HBM sector. Specifically, Vice President Choi, as the head of SK Hynix's packaging technology development, applied technologies with excellent heat dissipation and high productivity, changing the landscape of the HBM market. Under his leadership, domestic companies collaborated to successfully develop high-performance domestic equipment at the industry's highest level in packaging, and through knowledge sharing with material suppliers, they also led the localization of plating solutions and bonding materials optimized for characteristics.

At the National Productivity Conference, Lee Seung-ryeol, Director of Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "The advent of the AI era has opened a field of challenges and innovation that can dramatically improve the productivity of our industry," adding, "The core keywords of productivity are speed and value, and through AI, the epitome of speed, it is time to gather everyone's wisdom to realize the value of productivity innovation. The government plans to actively support industrial AI transformation."

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