The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 14th it is recruiting startups that will promote proof of concept (PoC) and commercialization by using public data.
This recruitment is being carried out as part of the "support for using public data" program, which opens data held by public institutions to startups and, through collaboration, supports innovation in public services and the creation of new businesses.
The government, in its plan released in April to "foster a startup boom in a national startup era," presented a blueprint to expand open innovation in national strategic industries and provide public data with high corporations demand—such as in health care and safety—to startups. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), together with related ministries including the Ministry of National Defense, Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, is identifying collaboration needs in defense and Climate Tech and supporting proof of concept and prototype production.
The program operates in two ways: public institutions present collaboration tasks based on open data, and startups propose using undisclosed data from public institutions.
In Aug., the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) solicited tasks from public institutions and selected 22 tasks from 18 institutions. The Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) proposed developing an artificial intelligence (AI) model that predicts population density in key areas during festivals, holidays, and other event periods. The idea is to prevent safety accidents caused by crowding and use the model to establish data-based public safety policies.
Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) proposed developing technology that detects rainfall and snowfall conditions from CCTV footage and prepares for black ice on roads. The plan is to prevent road safety accidents by identifying real-time risk information and pre-spraying de-icing agents.
The application period runs from the 15th to Oct. 6. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will select around 20 startup corporations to carry out the public institution–proposed tasks through this recruitment. Selected corporations will receive up to 1 billion won in commercialization funds needed for proof of concept with public institutions and prototype production. The startup growth technology development program will link up to 2 billion won, and the public-private joint technology commercialization program will link up to 6 billion won.
Sixty-three startups applied for the method of proposing to use undisclosed public data. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), together with the National Information Society Agency (NIA), is working to secure the necessary data and plans to provide the selected corporations with commercialization funds of the same scale and linked support for technology development.
Cho Kyung-won, startup policy director at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "Supporting startups in using public data will lay the groundwork for accelerating the commercialization of innovative technologies and creating public services that people can feel," adding, "We will support the opening of public data with high corporations demand and the expansion of open innovation to spur the growth of startups and help spread the startup boom."