Visit to Wonju Medical Device Technovalley
Discussion with Deputy Heads of Busan, Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Jeonnam
Oh Ki-woong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, visited Wonju Medical Device Technovalley, a key participant institution in the Gangwon AI Healthcare Global Innovation Zone, on the 13th to check the preparation status of the global innovation zone and discuss cooperation plans.
The ‘Global Innovation Zone’ is a Korean-style innovation cluster where negative regulations are applied for the development of new products and services in advanced fields and overseas expansion, and demonstrations are conducted at global standard levels. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups selected Busan, Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Jeonnam as candidate regions on December 28 last year.
Vice Minister Oh Ki-woong, who visited Wonju, toured the next-generation healthcare industry support center and prototype production room of Wonju Medical Device Technovalley, and then held policy consultations with deputy heads of Busan, Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Jeonnam.
On this day, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and local governments shared the progress of consultations with related ministries regarding negative regulation exceptions, plans for securing demonstration safety, and the establishment of demonstration infrastructure, among other preparations for the global innovation zone. They agreed to closely cooperate from the early stages of launch to ensure that collaboration between the Ministry and local governments and field-centered principles are firmly upheld during the promotion process of the global innovation zone.
Additionally, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the four regions of Busan, Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Jeonnam will operate the ‘Global Innovation Zone Promotion Council,’ consisting of the Ministry’s Vice Minister and the four deputy heads of the cities and provinces, to regularly check progress and swiftly resolve any shortcomings found, while continuously discovering necessary follow-up tasks. Furthermore, to enhance the efficiency of performance management, three working groups for demonstration management, collaboration coordination, and performance promotion will also be operated.
Vice Minister Oh Ki-woong stated, “Since the Global Innovation Zone is a core task of the current government, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will spare no effort to support the creation of a myth where unicorn companies are born in Busan, Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Jeonnam by providing the optimal policy matrix tailored to the policy demands of local governments based on smooth communication with them.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
