KEIT to Support 52.1 Billion KRW for Knowledge Service R&D This Year

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) will invest 52.1 billion KRW in knowledge service research and development (R&D) this year.

KEIT announced on the 25th that it will support a total of 52.1 billion KRW for technology development projects in the knowledge service industry this year. The knowledge service industry is an industry that creates added value through the production, processing, and distribution of knowledge, such as consulting and e-commerce. KEIT started the knowledge service industry technology development project in 2009 and has supported about 490.2 billion KRW for 337 projects until last year.

KEIT also announced the projects newly eligible for support this year. The new projects include 6 service core technology development projects and 12 service industry convergence advancement projects, totaling 18. KEIT will support a total of 76 projects for technology development this year. A KEIT official explained, "This year, we plan to strengthen support for manufacturing support services necessary to enhance the competitiveness of manufacturing companies and convergence service fields such as edutech."

The recruitment period for R&D support institutions is until the 20th of next month. New support institutions will be finally selected in March. KEIT plans to sign agreements with support institutions in April and fully launch the R&D projects.

Meanwhile, KEIT intends to support the advancement of existing industries such as manufacturing through the knowledge service industry technology development project. In fact, KEIT supported the development of the 'CPS Decision-Making Service,' which attracted an investment of 4 billion KRW. This service supports synchronization of manufacturing resources based on manufacturing data. The fintech service 'BankSalad,' which was selected as one of the top 100 excellent achievements by the Ministry of Science and ICT in 2020, also received KEIT support.

Han Seung-yeop, Head of KEIT’s Strategic Industry Division, said, "Through this project, we will strengthen the competitiveness of manufacturing companies and support the global expansion of the service industry," adding, "We are concretizing the direction of the project by establishing mid- to long-term support strategies along with continuous R&D investment."

Exterior view of the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) located in Daegu. [Photo by Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT)]