'Innovation Hub' CES 2023, Discovering Future New Businesses and Strengthening Networks
Bio Cluster San Diego ... Sharing Success in Bio Development
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang emphasized on the 18th, “We will definitely create ‘Yeongilman Valley,’ an innovative new industry and startup hub that surpasses the Seoul metropolitan area’s ‘Pangyo Valley’ and the United States’ ‘Silicon Valley,’ and leap forward as a future innovation leading city presenting new hope outside the metropolitan area.”
Mayor Lee Kang-deok made this statement while visiting the city hall briefing room on the same day, explaining the achievements and implications of the visit to the United States from the 3rd to the 17th with the delegation.
Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang is explaining the achievements of his visit to the United States at the city hall briefing room on the 18th.
The mayor said, “Through this visit, we observed the innovation sites where differentiated global startups are nurtured through collaboration with the world’s top-level U.S. public-private partnership-based startup ecosystem and excellent research councils such as universities,” adding, “We will apply this to Pohang and successfully create ‘Yeongilman Valley,’ which integrates a world-class regional new industry ecosystem and innovative residential conditions such as the Yeongilman Bridge, accelerating Pohang’s development as a hub city leading global new industries and overcoming concentration in the metropolitan area.”
He summarized the significance of the U.S. visit by saying, “We created opportunities to discover Pohang’s new industries linked to next-generation core industries attracting global attention and to strengthen global networking. It was a valuable occasion to clearly set Pohang’s direction and vision.”
Regarding the U.S. visit, Mayor Lee highlighted key achievements including ▲ sharing next-generation innovative technologies and strengthening global business collaboration ▲ full-scale overseas expansion of venture startups through global partnerships ▲ sharing successful models for establishing a ‘Pohang-type’ bio cluster and creating a global innovation city, emphasizing that the visit was very meaningful and fruitful.
The ‘CES 2023’ event, which the mayor and delegation attended, was a ‘stage of innovation’ encompassing future core industries and advanced technologies and products, with participation enthusiasm from countries worldwide and domestic local governments hotter than ever to lead global new industry trends.
The mayor’s party started by visiting the ‘Pohang Pavilion,’ the only dedicated booth established nationwide by a basic local government, and visited all 30 participating Pohang companies, including those awarded the ‘CES Innovation Award,’ directly confirming their innovative technological capabilities competing globally.
He urged expanding the participation scope of local venture startups in CES through active collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development.
They also strengthened business collaboration through forums such as the Maeil Business Newspaper Business Forum at CES, and especially through on-site networking with central government officials including Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Second Vice Minister Park Yoon-kyu of the Ministry of Science and ICT, actively proposing regional issues and policy support such as ‘designation of a global battery innovation special zone’ and ‘creation of a digital innovation hub.’
After visiting domestic and international major corporate pavilions, the delegation actively agreed on the need for comprehensive fostering of global innovative industries such as ESG, artificial intelligence (AI), and metaverse, as well as the three new industries Pohang is promoting (bio, battery, hydrogen), discussing concrete implementation plans including the establishment of new departments.
Focusing on the added value of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the CES venue, they explored building the ‘Pohang International Exhibition Convention Center’ specialized in Pohang’s bio and secondary battery new industries to strengthen the global competitiveness of the MICE industry.
To nurture talents who will lead new business promotion based on creativity, convergence, and innovation, they decided to actively consider expanding the CES 2024 delegation mainly composed of the MZ generation.
In particular, the mayor’s party test-rode the ‘Tesla Vegas Loop,’ a future transportation system at CES, related to the globally significant topic of ‘attracting the Tesla Gigafactory,’ and discussed specific development strategies including Tesla’s operational status and investment conditions with the technology manager.
He emphasized that they will not let go of the effort to attract the Gigafactory to the region according to expansion plans, accelerating proactive responses and securing leadership.
The delegation visited Pittsburgh City, which has a similar urban growth background to Pohang and is continuously developing in future new industries, and met with Rich Fitzgerald, head of Allegheny County, who led innovative growth.
Through this meeting, they shared innovation strategies for startup ecosystems based on public-private partnerships and discussed continuous cooperation such as a startup exchange platform aiming for a sister city agreement.
They visited the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute and Carnegie Mellon University to discuss the role and development strategies of local universities for nurturing global startups.
They also agreed to hold regular forums between Carnegie Mellon University’s Block Research Institute and POSTECH’s Park Tae-joon Future Strategy Institute, opening the way for successful cooperation models between universities and overseas expansion of venture startups.
Finally, they visited San Diego, one of the three major U.S. bio clusters, and visited UC San Diego and the Salk Institute, which played key roles in growing into a world-class bio cluster, sharing the growth process and development strategies of the bio industry.
Through a virtuous cycle cluster model based on bio-specialized universities, research institutes, and companies, they reaffirmed the necessity and justification of establishing a POSTECH research-centered medical school, a key city project, and visited ‘Biocom California,’ a global bio organization, exploring strategic partnership plans such as intensive nurturing of bio startups and establishing a ‘Biocom California Pohang Branch.’
The delegation directly confirmed world-class innovation park leading models like San Diego and shared development processes to plan regional adaptation methods and concrete promotion strategies for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s ‘Global Innovation Park Development Project’ selection in the future.
Mayor Lee Kang-deok said, “This U.S. visit will be a valuable experience and growth foundation for Pohang, which is leaping forward as a global new industry hub city,” adding, “We will swiftly promote key issues such as ‘Yeongilman Valley’ for Pohang’s next 100 years and realize a great transformation as a global innovation city.”
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