'The Power of the Region, Wings of Innovation'... 'Regulatory Free Zone Innovation Week' until the 19th

44 Regulatory Laws Revised Through Demonstration
15 Trillion Won Worth of Investment Attracted to Regions So Far

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 17th that it held the ‘Regulatory Sandbox Innovation Week’ at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seocho, Seoul.

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is speaking while presiding over the 1st Regulatory Sandbox Deliberation Committee meeting of 2024 held on April 16 at the annex of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu. Photo by Yonhap News

The Regulatory Sandbox is a system that suspends regulations hindering the development of new technologies and supports companies in freely demonstrating new technologies to establish standards for new technologies and industries, thereby enabling them to secure domestic and international markets. Since the Regulatory Sandbox system was first introduced in 2019, 39 special zones have been designated nationwide. Through demonstrations, 44 regulatory laws have been revised, investments worth approximately 15 trillion won have been attracted to the regions, and about 7,100 jobs have been created.

This Innovation Week will continue for three days until the 19th. The slogan is ‘The Power of Regions, the Wings of Innovation.’ The event focuses on sharing the achievements of the Regulatory Sandbox and cooperating with global companies following the full-scale implementation of global innovation zones.

During the event, exhibition booths for Regulatory Sandbox zones in five regions and four global innovation zones will be operated. In addition, achievements such as regulatory exemptions and commercialization complex support between the Regulatory Sandbox and Free Economic Zones, a collaboration between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will also be exhibited.

At the opening ceremony on the day, along with the opening event announcing the main event, regional and national exhibition halls were opened, and an awards ceremony was held to commend 27 contributors who contributed to revitalizing the regional economy through this year’s Regulatory Sandbox. At the ‘Regulatory Sandbox Achievement Dissemination Symposium,’ stakeholders participated to share excellent cases and achievements of the Regulatory Sandbox so far and discussed future development directions and ways to continuously generate results.

On the morning of the 18th, a future forum will be held with the theme ‘The Future of Regulatory Innovation through Global Cooperation,’ starting with a keynote speech by Jeong Ryun, Korea representative of UL Solutions, followed by participation from representatives of overseas cooperation organizations from global innovation zones in the UK, Japan, Estonia, and key domestic companies.

On the last day, the ‘Korea-Japan Bio Innovation Ecosystem Connect’ will take place. This event will explore ways to activate cooperation in the bio sector between Korea and Japan and strategies for entering the global market through this cooperation.

Kim Seong-seop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “The Regulatory Sandbox is an important driving force that promotes innovative ideas and startups and contributes to regional development,” adding, “We will continue to make policy efforts so that the Regulatory Sandbox can establish itself as a hub leading future industries.”

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