Building a Production Ecosystem, Technology Demonstration, and Commercialization Promotion
(Andong=Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Seung-hyung: North Gyeongsang Province announced on the 2nd that it has applied for the designation of a National Advanced Strategic Industry Specialized Complex (in the robotics field) with Gumi and Pohang as base regions, where core robot companies and related manufacturing ecosystems are concentrated.
Going forward, the plan is to jointly develop the dual bases of Gumi and Pohang into humanoid robot specialized complexes to innovate the regional manufacturing industry structure and establish a foundation for future growth.
Through the designation of the specialized complex, they plan to undertake product development (30 types) necessary for the regional industry, foster 150 robot companies, promote dissemination and expansion, and train 3,070 professionals. The strategy envisions attracting investments worth 1.4 trillion won and creating over 2,300 jobs.
Additionally, in connection with the Daegu National Robot Test Field, they plan to utilize a full-cycle verification system including real and virtual environment demonstrations, performance evaluation and certification, data utilization, and the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI).
They aim to establish a next-generation manufacturing industry ecosystem centered on humanoid robots and transition to an AI-based autonomous manufacturing structure.
The province plans to expand its strategic industries in the robotics field, in addition to the previously established specialized complexes for semiconductors (Gumi), secondary batteries (Pohang), and bio (Andong and Pohang).
They recognize that national policy direction aims beyond simple industrial agglomeration to establish a complete cycle ecosystem for advanced industries, focusing on the localization of core components, commercialization of finished products, and field demonstrations, and have proposed the ‘K-Robot Mega Cluster’ model.
Based on an already rich ecosystem of related companies, they plan to establish a full-cycle ecosystem in the robotics industry, from components, to finished products, to AI demonstrations, and complete the value chain.
In Gumi, they aim to build a component production ecosystem centered on 88 leading and participating/cooperating companies, while in Pohang, they plan to promote the production of finished robot products, technology demonstration, and commercialization through an industry-academia-research network.
In response to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s designation of robotics and defense fields as new national advanced strategic industries last year, the province has established a cooperation system with Gumi City, Pohang City, the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, the Gumi Electronics and Information Technology Research Institute, and the Gyeongbuk Technopark.
The designation of the specialized complex is expected to be decided through review and evaluation in the first half of the year and deliberation and resolution by the National Strategic Industries Committee in July.
Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of North Gyeongsang Province, said, “The robot specialized complex is a project to innovate manufacturing and open up the region’s future. We will expand the national strategic industries to include robots following semiconductors, secondary batteries, and bio,” and added, “We will make the leap to the center of the robotics industry based on the manufacturing capabilities of Gumi, the technical expertise of Pohang, and the cooperation of leading companies and innovation institutions.”