Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises and Samsung Electronics said on the 29th that they will begin accepting applications on the 30th for corporations to take part in the "large-small win-win smart factory construction support project," which backs manufacturing innovation at small and medium-sized companies. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups oversees the project.
KBIZ and Samsung Electronics have supported the construction of smart factories at more than 2,540 small and medium-sized companies by investing a total of 160 billion won over about eight years since 2018.
This year's project is characterized by expanded support across all stages, from the basic phase to advancement and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. In particular, to meet rising AI demand on factory floors, an "AI track" was newly introduced, and support for the basic phase, which had been halted, will resume. Total support amounts to 15.45 billion won and will target about 150 corporations.
The AI track aims to build smart factories capable of real-time autonomous control, providing up to 300 million won per corporation. That is 75% of total project costs.
The basic and advanced general projects support the construction of operating systems such as MES and ERP, as well as equipment control and process automation. Support per corporation is up to 60 million won for the basic phase and up to 150 million won for the advanced phase.
Small and midsize corporations without a transaction relationship with Samsung can also apply.
Selected corporations will receive manufacturing innovation mentoring involving 160 current experts from Samsung Electronics. Teams of three experts will be formed and stationed on-site for six to 10 weeks. The program also includes market access support through Smart Biz Expo and Home & Shopping, a professional workforce training program based on Samsung's education infrastructure, and post-construction maintenance support.
Applications will be accepted from Apr. 6 to May 8. After on-site due diligence and evaluations, final recipients will be selected in June.
Yang Chan-hoe, head of innovation growth at KBIZ, said, "With the new AI track, the transition to intelligent autonomous manufacturing on production sites will begin in earnest."