Dong-Eui University RISE Project Group Drives Innovation Through Digital Transformation of Footwear Manufacturing and Design

Carrying Out the XaaS Leading Project Development Task
with Kristin Company, Busan Technopark, and Others

The Dong-Eui University RISE Project Group, led by Lee Imgeon, is actively moving forward with its initiatives to successfully realize its vision of creating a sustainable innovation-based ecosystem for mutual prosperity between the local community and the university.

Goals and Key Research and Development Functions of the 2025 XaaS Leading Project Development Task.

Kristin Company, led by CEO Lee Minbong, a participant in Dong-Eui University's industry-academia cooperation project 'Lab Rental,' was recently selected for the '2025 XaaS Leading Project Development Task' supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

With this selection, the comprehensive digital transformation of Busan's footwear industry is expected to accelerate in earnest.

The selected project, led by Kristin Company with Dong-Eui University's Industry-Academia Cooperation Group, Busan Technopark, and Hyungji Elite as co-participants, will receive 800 million KRW in government funding until December this year. The goal is to develop 'generative AI-based interactive footwear design and manufacturing digital service technology.'

The participating organizations expect that, through this project, they will introduce 'AI technology-based digital services' throughout the entire footwear industry lifecycle. By digitizing all processes from design to manufacturing, they anticipate dramatically improving productivity and creativity, such as reducing the average footwear design development period from about six months to less than one month.

Dong-Eui University operates the 'Lab Rental' project, in which company professionals reside at the university lab and collaborate with experts (professors) using specialized equipment to develop technology. Since last year, Kristin Company, a shoe tech startup, has participated in Lab Rental and has been conducting joint research and collaborative projects with Kim Sunghui, head of the Industry-Academia Cooperation Group and professor of Industrial ICT Engineering.

Lee Minbong, CEO of Kristin Company, stated, "Our goal is to provide an integrated platform service for cloud-based footwear production, with a focus on implementing truly user-centered functions. We are aiming to launch the service in the second half of this year."

Kim Sunghui, head of Dong-Eui University's Industry-Academia Cooperation Group, expressed confidence in the completeness of the technology development, saying, "By transforming Busan's traditional footwear industry into an AI-based digital service industry, we are confident of securing world-class design competitiveness."

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