Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) hosted a technology exchange today at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) between foreign-invested companies (FICs) and domestic public research institutions with an aim to foster Korea’s innovation ecosystem by leveraging the R&D capabilities of global FICs.

Launched with the participation of 10 FICs and 15 domestic research institutions, the exchange was first proposed by FICs during the Global Foreign Investment Company and Public Institution Roundtable held in May, with the goal of building an R&D cooperation system through technology exchange with the public institutions’ top researchers. At today’s exchange, participants took stock of technological progress in advanced industries, shared recent development trends, and explored future collaboration opportunities.

MOTIE is in the process of pursuing supportive policies, such as expanding cash incentives linked to exclusive R&D projects for FICs and improving regulations, to attract investments for the establishment of a major global business R&D center to facilitate continued investment from FICs’ parent companies and catalyze the transfer of leading technologies currently unavailable in Korea. 

At today’s exchange, FICs and public institutions engaged in not only technology sharing, but also in one-on-one consultations to identify potential joint projects and discussed tangible cooperative measures.

Director General for Investment Policy Ryu Peob-min stated that the ministry plans to launch joint programs involving public research institutions for the establishment of a global R&D center for FICs with leading technologies, while pushing to expand exclusive R&D initiatives for FICs to promote the active participation of global corporations.