Expansion of Converged Manufacturing
The government accelerates convergence in the manufacturing sector and sets the stage for innovation of the industry.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy had a business report to the Trade, Industry & Energy Committee of the National Assembly on July 2. There, it suggested the Creative Economy Industrial Engine Project and the Manufacturing Industry Innovation 3.0 Strategy as its major pursuits for the second half of this year and announced the detailed action plans.
The Manufacturing Industry Innovation 3.0 Strategy has the three key sub-strategies of the creation of new manufacturing oriented toward industrial convergence, the enhancement of the major segments and the advancement of the industrial infrastructure for innovation.
The public and private sectors raise one trillion won and set up 10,000 smart factories by 2020 so as to speed up the reform of the manufacturing industry through information technology and software convergence. At the same time, they foster the growth of those segments combining manufacturing with information technology, examples of which include the incorporation of information technology into the energy sector.
Also, the core material and component development, engineering, design and software segments receive concentrated support for the enhancement of industrial competitiveness. 10 key materials are to be developed by 2019, earlier than scheduled, and the development of engineering, design and embedded software are fostered.
The ministry releases its specific action plans for 13 industrial engines, including wearable smart device and tailored health care system, before the end of this month, too. Then, it reorganizes the national manpower development system in August and unveils plans for the expansion of smart factories in October, those for the enhancement of the soft power in the manufacturing sector in November and those for turning Korea into the R&D hub of Northeast Asia in December.