Vice Minister Chung Seung-il of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) gives an opening speech at the Korea Tech Show 2019, which took place at COEX in Seoul on Dec. 13 and 14.

The Korea Tech Show 2019 held at COEX in Seoul on Dec. 13 and 14 was an opportunity to share the outcomes of industry R&D projects and look at the latest technologies and products.

The exhibition was hosted by the MOTIE and organized by three R&D institutions: the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT), the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT).

In a welcoming speech at an opening session of the show, Vice Minister Chung Seung-il of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said, “Amid uncertainties surrounding the Korean industry like U.S.-Chinese trade conflicts and Japan’s strengthening of trade curbs, (now) is a time in which industry’s fundamental changes through technology innovation are requisite.”

He said the government will make all-out efforts to establish a structure with a virtuous cycle in which companies can grow along with the industry ecosystem.

Some 175 exhibitors showcased their latest technologies and products at 243 booths.

Among the exhibition’s representative items were an industrial drone outfitted with the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell, produced by Doosan Mobility Innovation; a low-priced LiDar for self-driving car, produced by Carnavicom; a technology designed to secure 3D spatial information and detect objects via multi-channel beams; an interventional procedure operation robot system, commercialized by Seoul Asan Hospital for the first time in Korea; and a 3D automatic imaging system by Logos Biosystems, a piece of equipment commercialized for tissue clearing for the first time in the world.

Dignitaries, including MOTIE Vice Minister Chung Seung-il, receive a briefing on the exhibits on display at the Korea Tech Show 2019 from an official. (Photos: MOTIE)

Spectators at the Special Pavilion were given the chance to look at winners of the Korea Technology Grand Prize, including the world’s first 65-inche rollable OLED display by LG Electronics, and a real-time 3D oral scanner boasting of the world’s top precision and speed, and the revolutionary process node, 7LPP, the 7-nanometer (nm) LPP (Low Power Plus) with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology, whose mass production was launched by Samsung Electronics in April.

The exhibition also coincided with numerous side events such as the Global Technology Cooperation Forum and the Industrial Transformation Conference.

The Korea Tech Show 2019 also had side events in which spectators ranging from primary pupils to adults participated. In Tech Innovation Show, General Manager Cho Yong-min of Google Korea gave a lecture on the topic “How to innovate their own self in an era of the 4th Industrial Revolution,” suggesting the general public’s ways of having an easy access to tech markets.

The exhibition held the final idea contest final of the Alchemist Project, designed to realize revolutionary technologies that can transform the industry ecosystem.

The exhibition also had an awards ceremony of those who were honored for their contribution to the spreading of the importance of industry technologies and promoting the industry technology sector.

The coveted Order of Industrial Merit Service, Gold Tower went to President Lee Ki-sang of Hyundai NGV in recognition of his roles in strengthening the competitiveness of the Korean industry technology by laying a foundation to cope with the global automobile market through the development of eco-friendly cars.