The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 17th that it held a forum in Daegu to discuss ways to shift the Daegu–North Gyeongsang automotive industry to software-defined vehicles (SDV).
The forum was organized to hear on-the-ground opinions in Daegu–North Gyeongsang and to seek cooperation plans with local governments to respond to the shift to future vehicles.
SDV refers to future vehicles in which major automobile functions are implemented through software by combining artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and autonomous driving technologies. Small and midsize businesses are broadening their business scope beyond producing existing hardware parts into software and electronic components. In Daegu–North Gyeongsang, the high share of internal combustion engine parts corporations makes the SDV shift a key task for advancing local industry and securing competitiveness in future vehicles.
Kim Bong-seop, Deputy Minister at the Intelligent Automotive Parts Promotion Institute, who delivered the keynote presentation that day, outlined global SDV transition trends and response directions for Daegu–North Gyeongsang. He said linking Daegu's mobility software and electronics capabilities with North Gyeongsang's body, materials, and battery manufacturing base could build an ecosystem for the future mobility industry.
Corporations and experts who took part in the discussion agreed that with technology development, talent training, and the establishment of cooperative systems, local small and midsize businesses can grow into key partners in the future vehicle industry.
Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), also attended the "one-stop corporations support expo," which supports exports, workforce, and grievance counseling for local small and midsize businesses, to encourage corporations and officials. He said, "I hope this cooperation project spreads as a best-practice case for local industrial transformation."