Accelerating Local SME Development... Launch of '100 Regional Innovation Leading Companies'

Launch Ceremony of the '100 Leading Regional Innovation Companies'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young) announced on the 17th that it held the 'Launch Ceremony of 100 Regional Innovation Leading Companies' at Daegu EXCO. The '100 Regional Innovation Leading Companies,' promoted as a national agenda by the new government, is a project to discover promising companies with innovative capabilities and growth potential and nurture them as companies that drive the main industry ecosystem and regional economy.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and 14 metropolitan cities and provinces made the first selection in March this year and additionally selected 47 companies as regional innovation leading companies in the second round last November. They will actively support the selected companies to build a regional innovation ecosystem through research and development (R&D), commercialization, and more.

At the launch ceremony, the 100 leading companies declared that they will fulfill their roles as representative regional companies contributing to the local community through regional job creation and economic growth. Park Soon-il, CEO of YJ Link, who was selected as a regional innovation leading company and attended the launch ceremony, said, "By utilizing core technologies and fostering cooperation between regional innovation institutions and local SMEs, we will lead Daegu Metropolitan City's main industries of transportation equipment and machinery materials and components and do our utmost to contribute to the regional economy."

An agreement ceremony was also held among 19 organizations, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, 14 non-capital metropolitan cities and provinces, the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs, the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, and the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation, to support the fostering of 100 regional innovation leading companies. Through this agreement, each organization will support various programs such as R&D, finance, market access, and workforce to ensure that regional innovation leading companies become key players in the regional economy and will actively cooperate in continuously discovering and promoting projects.

Minister Lee Young said, "This project will make regional innovation leading companies the central axis of the regional innovation ecosystem, voluntarily sharing and spreading achievements, and become a leading role model nurtured together by the central government, 14 metropolitan cities and provinces, and support institutions." He added, "We will spare no policy efforts to help regional innovation leading companies, representing their regions, leap beyond the regional economy to become global companies."