SMEs ministry builds pool of 538 firms for 'new security' push

South Korea's SMEs ministry said Wednesday it has built an initial pool of 538 companies in "new security" technology fields, as it moves to pick and support firms it considers central to national security and future industrial competitiveness.

The pool was drawn from nominations by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, other government bodies, the Korea Venture Business Association and the Korea Defense Industry Association, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said. By sector, it counts 145 artificial intelligence companies, 115 in space and aerospace, 68 in drones, 65 in security, 58 in robotics, 46 in sensors, 40 in semiconductors, 30 in new materials and 18 in quantum technology, excluding 47 companies counted in more than one field.

A third meeting of a working consultative body on fostering the firms, chaired by Park Yong-soon, head of the ministry's small and medium enterprise policy office, was held in Seoul on Oct. 28 with about 25 officials from related ministries and agencies. The meeting took up plans for designating strategic fields and setting evaluation criteria, a demand-driven research and development support scheme, and a fund.

Nine fields are under review as new security strategic areas: AI, advanced robotics, cybersecurity, semiconductors, space and aerospace, drones, new materials, sensors and quantum technology. The list will be refined after gathering views from industry and experts.

The draft criteria for choosing innovation companies rest on four axes: technological innovativeness, judged by research and development spending and intellectual property; security contribution, covering links to national strategic technologies and usefulness for national and economic security; growth potential and commercialization, measured by sales growth and investment raised; and security capability, including whether a firm has built infrastructure to protect its technology.

On research support, the ministry is discussing a scheme that would back a project across the full cycle from development through testing and purchase, with up to 10 billion won ($7.55 million) over as many as five years. Public demand-side institutions would take part from project planning through development and testing, and development targets could be adjusted as demand conditions change.

Related ministries are weighing ways to invest in the fields, including forming a large fund, given their long development periods and heavy early costs.

"The new security field is a core area that decides not only the strengthening of national security capabilities but the competitiveness of future advanced industries," Park said. He added that the ministry will work closely with related ministries so that companies with strong technology can establish themselves as key players in the field, and will move quickly on systematic and concrete support spanning discovery, research and development, investment and commercialization.

The ministry plans to finalize the strategic fields and criteria after the consultation, then select the innovation companies and support them across research, investment, testing and commercialization.