Gyeonggi Province will provide technology development support funds amounting to KRW 5.7 billion to companies, universities, and research institutes in the province.

On March 20, Gyeonggi Province announced that it would provide support of up to KRW 150 million for a total of 45 tasks by preparing an implementation plan through the ‘Gyeonggi Province Technology Development Project’ and ‘Gyeonggi Province R&D First Step Corporate Research Center Support Project.’

This year’s technology development project supports 35 tasks, including 6 designated competitions (public technology sector and industrial technology sector) and 29 free competitions, through an allocation of KRW 4 billion from the Gyeonggi provincial budget. Of particular note, apart from the provincial budget, an additional budget of KRW 1.15 billion will be added by 14 cities and counties: Goyang, Hwaseong, Namyangju, Ansan, Gimpo, Uijeongbu, Gwangmyeong, Gunpo, Icheon, Uiwang, Yeoju, Dongducheon, Gapyeong, and Yeoncheon. Through this, ‘more opportunities’ will be given to businesses, universities and research institutes in Gyeonggi Province, while eliminating blind spots in the discovery of companies with innovative ideas and supporting their growth.

In addition, starting from this year, the ‘Gyeonggi-do R&D First Step Corporate Research Center Support Project’ will be carried out concurrently. This will eliminate blind spots in terms of existing technology development projects, and targets companies that have established affiliated research institutes in Gyeonggi Province as well as those that have relocated from other local autonomies and established Gyeonggi-affiliated research institutes within a one-year period. The plan is to provide “fairer opportunities” to companies in the early stages of R&D that were deemed relatively unfavorable in the selection evaluation. Gyeonggi will support a total of 10 tasks through an annual budget allocation of KRW 1.7 billion.

A detailed business briefing session will be held on April 5 at 2:00 pm at the International Conference Hall of the Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center (located in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si). Detailed information will be provided during the session, including the overall project implementation plan, as well as tips for writing a project plan, preparing documents, and applying electronically.

Kim Hyun-dae (金顯大), Director General of the Future Growth Industry Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, said, “We want to realize a ‘Gyeonggi of Opportunity’ by discovering and supporting early-stage companies that fall in the blind spots of R&D. In particular, by strengthening R&D support tailored to regional characteristics in cooperation with cities and counties, we will create a system based on regional innovation and support the continued growth of Gyeonggi companies.”

Meanwhile, the technology development project, Gyeonggi Province’s representative R&D project, has seen the allocation of KRW 160.3 billion for 1,017 tasks over a 15-year period from 2008 to 2022. Through this project, sales of KRW 899.99 billion and cost savings of KRW 34.36 billion were realized, resulting in an economic performance that was 6.8 times greater than the investment as well as the creation of superior jobs for 8,314 people.

Companies wishing to participate can apply through the ‘Gyeonggi Province R&D Management System’ (pms.gbsa.or.kr) during the application period (April 24 to 28 by 6:00 PM). For more information, refer to Easy Biz (www.egbiz.or.kr), Gyeonggi’s R&D management system announcement, or contact the Science and Technology Support Team (031-776-4855) of the Gyeonggido Business and Science Accelerator.