Support for Potential Startups
In a bid to discover and foster promising small and medium enterprises (SMEs) based on intellectual property, North Gyeongsang Province selected six IP startups to support in 2016 on Apr. 6. The six startups include Emsonic Corp., Korea E&T Co., Thuringen Korea Co., Nano Corp., Kwangwoo Co. and Hanyang Ecotec Co.
They will be offered a total of 150 million won (US$129,310) for three years – 50 million won (US$43,103) annually – under the systematic management of professional consultants in the intellectual property sector, which includes patents, trademarks and industrial designs such as patented technology simulation, customized patent map, patented design support and non-English brand development.
The province has been seeking out 53 IP startups from 2009 to this year. Green Co., Ltd., an agricultural corporation which was chosen last year, has developed a new KGMP brand logo and exported it to 20 countries, including Germany, France, Malaysia and Singapore, posting 17.2 billion won (US$14.83 million) in exports out of 19.6 billion won (US$16.9 million) in total annual sales.
Kang Sung-ik, manager of the new growth engine industry division at North Gyeongsang Province, said, “The province is planning to provide 2.4 billion won (US$2.07 million) of project costs this year for its medium and long-term support policy to strengthen the business competitiveness and expand new markets through the expansion of intellectual property rights of SMEs.