President Kang Nam-hoon of the Korea Industrial Complex Corp. (Kicox) said he will try to upgrade Kicox’s worn-out image by equipping it with fresh IT to turn it into a “SMART reform space.” He said the reform support centers being built around the country’s major industrial complexes will be the bases for reform.
The CEO also said the industrial studies network will be systematized around the IoT and smart cars. Each region will be able to develop its industrial complex as a growth engine in the weeks and months ahead. He said he would build 30 more mini-industrial clusters, bringing the total to more than 100 mini-clusters.
Kicox will also support technology exchanges among firms operating inside the clusters, adding that many SMEs have excellent technologies, but they don’t how to make use of them.
Kicox kicked off a technology exchange model for some 30 SMEs operating in an industrial cluster in North Chungcheong Province. Five of them exchanged technologies and eight others are still in talks.
Kang said such deals are complex, but worth it. With Kicox is a mediator, the respective companies usually have to meet more than 15 times to reach such agreements.
Kang revealed that Kicox has been holding talks with Seoul City to turn the Guro Industrial Complex into a hi-tech fusion industrial complex in the near future.
The most immediate effect of industrial clusters is that they can boost the efficiency of business administration. The enterprises in a cluster have easy access to input factors necessary for running a business, including suppliers, business supporting services, and a steady labor force. They can also procure high-quality input factors at a low cost in a short amount of time. This is because related companies and organizations have already been concentrated in the area. The effects of clusters are more remarkable when it comes to innovation achieved through networking. The innovation ranges over various fields such as marketing, process and business models, as well as R&D and technology. Inside a cluster, tacit knowledge and know-how for innovation are easily accessible, as proximity with related companies and organizations facilitates face-to-face communication. Eventually improving business efficiency and innovating companies in a cluster can lead to the development of that industry in general. It can also help the local community by creating more jobs. In this way, regional innovation capability reinforces national competitiveness and becomes a contributing factor toward the national policy promoting balanced national development.
Since the 1970s, the Korean government implemented policies to construct large-scale industrial complexes in certain areas and gathered specific industries in those complexes.
For example, it built up a large-scale research district in Daeduck and had institutes in the complex conduct research necessary for national growth. In addition, the Korean government established and promoted special industrial complexes across the country: Pohang (steel), Changwon (machinery), Gumi (electronics), Ulsan (petrochemistry), and Banwon-Sihwa (parts and materials). Through the implementation of both industrial and science and technology policies in this manner, geographical distribution of industries was established: Daeduck for R&D, Seoul for planning and management, other regions for production. The separation of R&D and production sites dates back to this period.
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