Seoul Also Hosts Advanced Prototype Factory... Seoul City Operates 'Yongsan Prototype Production Center'

Support for the Entire Product Commercialization Process

Seoul City announced on the 1st that it will operate the ‘Seoul Yongsan Prototype Production Center (77 Cheongpa-ro, Yongsan-gu, Wonhyo Electronics Market Building 6)’ to nurture companies specialized in the electronic manufacturing sector, separately from the ‘Makerspace’ function where anyone can use expensive equipment for free. It is equipped with professional electronic manufacturing equipment and a testbed, capable of producing 24,000 electronic boards annually.

‘Seoul Yongsan Prototype Production Center’ is characterized by having 12 in-house ‘professional engineers’ who reside on-site to jointly develop prototypes with companies in the electronic manufacturing field.

Seoul City plans to select a total of 40 electronic manufacturing companies annually through its corporate support program (30 for technical support, 10 for residency) to support the entire product commercialization process, and support up to about 130 prototype developments and productions, including 90 unit supports. Up to 500 units can be produced per prototype model, with technical support provided by resident electronic circuit designers, 3D modelers, and manufacturing engineers.

Corporate support will be provided from March to December, and companies only need to bear part of the material costs. Thirty companies will be selected with the goal of joint development from development to initial mass production, marketing, and market launch.

Applications are also being accepted for 10 companies to reside at the ‘Seoul Yongsan Prototype Production Center.’ From tomorrow, small and medium-sized enterprises and startups with creative ideas in the ‘smart small home appliances’ sector, which produce lightweight, compact, and low-cost electronic products, will be recruited.

Selected companies can reside at the ‘Seoul Yongsan Prototype Production Center’ for up to one year to produce prototypes in the idea stage into ‘finished products’ with verified technical capabilities and receive support until market launch. Resident companies can receive ongoing development and manufacturing support and have access to meeting rooms, training rooms, workspaces, seminar rooms, studios, and rest areas.

Song Ho-jae, Director of Economic and Job Planning at Seoul City, said, “The Seoul Yongsan Prototype Production Center will become a sacred place where hardware startups with innovative ideas succeed in product development and initial mass production,” adding, “We will create a manufacturing startup support ecosystem (platform) that supports technology-based startups in the city to produce domestically and enter overseas markets.”