Korea seeks 10 anchor technologies to turn mid-sized firms into global players

The industry ministry said Wednesday it will select 10 core technologies by the end of the year under a large-scale research and development program meant to turn mid-sized Korean companies into global players built on their own technology. The program, named the World-Class 10 Wings Project, was presented at a briefing for about 100 people from mid-sized companies, universities and research institutes at the Korea Technology Center in Seoul.

The ministry frames the project as a break from the subcontracting structure that binds mid-sized firms to larger customers. Instead of supplying bigger companies, the selected firms are meant to become anchor companies leading future industries with proprietary technology.

"We will discover the 10 candidate tasks by the end of this year and push the main project from 2029, following preliminary research in 2027 and leading tasks in 2028," the ministry said in the announcement.

The selection process will run on two tracks. The ministry will survey about 2,000 companies and institutions by the end of this month to find bottom-up demand, focusing on cooperative tasks that bring together mid-sized companies, their customers, partner small firms, universities and research institutes. Separately, it will draw on analysis of global supply chains and patents to identify technologies from the top down.

Those candidates will then face review by expert groups and open debate in a hackathon format before the 10 tasks are chosen, weighing each technology's knock-on effects on global supply chains and the industrial ecosystem as well as whether mid-sized companies can lead the relevant market and technology.

Companies and researchers with development demand can submit a survey form describing the technology, its innovativeness and its industrial spillover effects through an online link by Nov. 25. The ministry plans to package support for selected tasks covering core technology development, patents and standards, testing and certification, and entry into overseas markets.

The briefing follows the ministry's Oct. 1 announcement of a basic plan for promoting mid-sized company growth that includes the project, and a roundtable with industry, academic and research experts on Oct. 15 where the planning direction was discussed.