The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 12th it will announce the implementation plan for the "technology commercialization package," a program that supports small and midsize enterprises in turning technology development achievements secured through government research and development (R&D) into sales and growth.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) assessed that many small and midsize enterprises that achieved strong technological results through government R&D investment fail to carry those results forward at the commercialization stage due to a lack of funding and expertise. To address this issue, the MSS created a new follow-up commercialization support system tailored to the post-R&D stage.
Under the technology commercialization package, when a small and midsize enterprise designs and applies with its own commercialization roadmap, a dedicated commercialization agency diagnoses the corporation and market environment and then supports a commercialization program in a primary care model. Through tailored support for corporations—such as exports, marketing, branding, and overseas certifications—the plan is to help technology development outcomes drive real growth.
This announcement includes implementation plans for two tracks within the technology commercialization package support program: "government R&D excellent projects" and "linkage with the technology transaction platform."
The government R&D excellent project support track will operate by receiving recommendations of corporations that carried out excellent R&D projects from 18 government ministries, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, and the Ministry of Science and ICT. The MSS will select 100 with commercialization capacity and provide up to 150 million won in commercialization subsidies per corporation.
The technology transaction platform linkage support track targets small and midsize enterprises that have received a transfer of technologies to be commercialized through the Smart Tech Bridge (run by the MSS and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC)) and the IP Market (run by the Ministry of Intellectual Property and the Korea Invention Promotion Association) platforms. Forty small and midsize enterprises will be selected to receive up to 150 million won in commercialization subsidies per corporation.
Subsidies paid through each track are used to purchase private-sector professional commercialization services. The MSS provides the selected corporations and the dedicated commercialization agency with a menu-style list of commercialization service items so that support is structured to lead to market development and sales generation.
Applications for the technology commercialization package program will be accepted online through the integrated management system for small and midsize enterprise technology development projects from the 24th to Mar. 13.
Hwang Young-ho, director general for technology innovation policy at the MSS, said, "We will help ensure that SMEs' R&D results do not remain at the level of reports or prototypes but settle in the market as products and services with competitiveness," and added, "We will complete an 'R&D system that makes money' by establishing a structure in which small and midsize enterprises with technology 'make well and sell well.'"