Up to 900 Million Won per Company for 'Fair Smartization of U-turn Enterprises'

Ministry of SMEs and Startups Secures 3rd Supplementary Budget
Support for Smart Reshoring

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] Companies returning production facilities to Korea can receive up to 900 million KRW in support for process smartization, including 'advanced manufacturing robots' and 'smart factories.'

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 14th that it will promote a smart reshoring support policy (the return of manufacturing to the home country) as a follow-up measure after securing the third supplementary budget.

The supplementary budget for this project totals 10 billion KRW, including 2 billion KRW for the Robot Utilization Manufacturing Innovation Support Project and 8 billion KRW for the Smart Factory Advancement Project. In particular, the smart factory project targeting returning companies will be prioritized to help them build advanced factories capable of remote control by linking advanced manufacturing robots and smart factories.

A dedicated track for returning companies has been newly established in the Robot Utilization Manufacturing Innovation Support Project, and the support amount per company has been increased to a maximum of 500 million KRW (previously 300 million KRW). Additionally, when building advanced smart factories, support per company will be expanded up to 400 million KRW (previously 150 million KRW). In the second half of this year, about four companies will be supported under the Robot Utilization Manufacturing Innovation Support Project, and about 20 companies under the Smart Factory Advancement Project.

Returning companies relocating production facilities to Korea that wish to smartize their processes with advanced manufacturing robots and smart factories can apply through the Smart Factory Project Management System website by September 15 of this year.

Park Jonghak, Director of the Manufacturing Innovation Support Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Along with prioritizing support for the smart factory project targeting returning companies, we plan to support the utilization of outcomes from process innovation R&D projects to accelerate the return of companies that had moved overseas seeking lower labor costs."