760 Million KRW Support for Technology Development of Products Compliant with Overseas Certification Standards

51 Newly Selected Small and Medium Enterprises

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Kwon Chil-seung, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 2nd that it has newly selected 51 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the 'Overseas Certification Standard Conformity Product Technology Development Project' and will support them with 7.65 billion KRW.

The 'Overseas Certification Standard Conformity Product Technology Development Project' is a program that supports the development of new products conforming to overseas certification standards to strengthen the export competitiveness of SMEs. It started in 2020 and is now in its third year.

So far, SMEs attempting to enter overseas markets have faced difficulties due to the burden of simultaneously developing products that meet the certifications and certification standards required by each country or industry sector, and conducting certification tests. It is expected that obtaining overseas certifications such as those from the US and Europe through this project will help achieve commercialization success and expand exports.

The 51 projects selected this year are divided into 27 new export projects and 24 export market diversification projects. By type of selected companies, projects in the machinery and materials sector accounted for the highest proportion (29.4%), followed by electrical and electronics and bio-medical (each 19.6%), information and communication (13.7%), chemical (9.8%), and energy resources (7.8%).

The project selected in the machinery and materials sector to develop a 'Reformer Tube for Hydrogen Extraction with over 1000 hours durability' plans to supply domestic and overseas hydrogen extraction companies in the US, Japan, and other countries by acquiring US certification.

The project in the electrical and electronics sector to develop a 'Polarization Automatic Analysis Adjustment Video Monitoring Device' plans to sell to procurement markets in Europe and the US by acquiring European certification. It is expected to have a significant economic ripple effect as it can be applied in fields such as autonomous driving, smart cities, and disaster safety.

Won Young-jun, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry, said, "We will help reduce the costs and time required for SMEs to obtain certifications to minimize the difficulties experienced during new exports and export market diversification."