Over 20 Experts from Industry, Academia, and Research Join Forces:
From Strategy to Policy Recommendations
Major Industrial Transformation to Counter China's Rise and Environmental Regulations
"At a Crossroads of Growth and Decline... Securing Future Competitiveness Is Essential"
The Korea Chemical Industry Council has launched an initiative to consolidate industry-academia-research R&D capabilities in order to accelerate the high value-addition and eco-friendly transition of the chemical industry.
On July 1, the Korea Chemical Industry Council held the inauguration ceremony for the "High Value-Added and Eco-Friendly Transformation R&D Council for the Chemical Industry" at the Onoma Hotel in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. This council was established with the participation of around 20 experts from industry, academia, and research sectors, with the aim of pooling R&D capabilities to drive the high value-addition and eco-friendly transformation of the chemical industry.
The council will be responsible for: ▲ planning and coordinating R&D strategies; ▲ conducting R&D demand surveys and project planning; ▲ promoting commercialization and dissemination of outcomes; and ▲ making recommendations for government policy and institutional improvements. The council will be chaired by Um Chanwang, Vice Chairman of the Korea Chemical Industry Council, and a separate committee will be formed to handle practical operations.
A representative of the council stated, "R&D for high value-addition and eco-friendly transformation is a core strategy for securing competitiveness amid China's rise in the chemical industry and the strengthening of global environmental regulations. If the basic research capabilities of academia and research institutes are combined with the practical technology development and commercialization capabilities of industry, the pace of industrial transformation will accelerate."
Following the inauguration ceremony, the "High Value-Added and Eco-Friendly R&D Strategy Seminar for the Chemical Industry" was held, where experts from the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT), S&P Global, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Kyung Hee University, and others shared insights on relevant policy directions and technology trends. In particular, discussions covered topics such as the utilization of crude oil to chemicals (COTC) and small modular reactors (SMR) in petrochemicals, as well as R&D trends in the white bio industry. White bio refers to chemical products made from biomass feedstocks such as corn or sugarcane.
Nasunghwa, Director of Industrial Supply Chain Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, who attended the event, stated in a congratulatory address, "Korea's chemical industry stands at a crossroads between growth and decline amid the paradigms of global oversupply and the transition to high value-added and eco-friendly practices. The public and private sectors must join forces to turn this crisis into an opportunity for growth through technology development."
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