115 Projects Selected for Support
KRW 83.2 Billion to Be Invested Over Two Years in 14 Cities and Provinces
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on April 20 that it had finalized the selection of 115 projects for support under the "Regional Innovation Leading Companies R&D" program and has begun follow-up procedures such as signing agreements.
The "Regional Innovation Leading Companies R&D" program is designed to support technology development by SMEs outside the Seoul metropolitan area in order to promote balanced regional development. Unlike previous regional R&D programs, the participation requirements have been significantly strengthened, including criteria such as average sales and R&D capabilities. To select companies with high growth potential, the program introduced nationwide competition instead of the previous region-based competition.
After all projects that passed the eligibility review underwent in-person evaluations by experts from industry, academia, and research institutes, 127 projects were rated as excellent and eligible for government support. Finally, the selection committee confirmed 115 projects, taking into account government funding and local government matching budgets.
The selected lead companies recorded an average annual sales of approximately KRW 12.3 billion over the past three years, and 95% of them had in-house research institutes.
In addition, to enable SMEs to achieve outstanding R&D outcomes through industry-academia-research collaboration, the program encouraged the formation of consortia. As a result, 49 universities and 36 research institutes nationwide will participate, with an average of 2.7 institutions collaborating on each project.
The Ministry plans to invest a total of KRW 83.2 billion over the next two years, together with 14 non-metropolitan cities and provinces, to support technology development for items in key industrial sectors. For the establishment of key industrial ecosystems, 38 projects will receive KRW 37 billion in national funding and KRW 16.2 billion in local funding over two years, while 77 projects aimed at strengthening regional corporate capabilities will receive KRW 21 billion in national funding and KRW 9 billion in local funding.
To ensure that technologies (products) developed through R&D lead to commercialization, actual sales, and growth, the Ministry plans to closely link and support the regional specialization project "Legend 50+".
Lim Sanggyu, Director of Regional Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We will make every effort to secure budgets and manage the program so that innovation by regional SMEs leads to the growth of key industries."
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