South Chungcheong Province is stepping up as a tech commercialization partner for local companies.
The provincial government announced Wednesday that it has been selected for the "Technopark Production Equipment Upgrade Support" program organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and will begin full-scale implementation of a full-cycle tech commercialization support project together with Chungnam Technopark and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
The program leverages equipment and technical capabilities held by regional technoparks, universities, and research institutes to provide one-stop solutions for technical challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in the region's key industries.
The province plans to invest 2 billion won over six months, including 1.05 billion won in central government funding secured through the program selection and 450 million won in provincial funding.
Chungnam Technopark will be responsible for identifying companies, supporting equipment use and verification, and connecting commercialization efforts, while KAIST will provide technical consulting, research and development project design, and technology planning, led by its faculty.
Unlike existing corporate support programs, this initiative focuses on linking the entire tech commercialization cycle, including technical consulting, testing and certification, verification, proof of concept (PoC), research and development (R&D) project planning, and technology development and investment linkage. The approach aims to eliminate gaps between support stages and maximize commercialization outcomes.
The province plans to select 30 companies in the region for support this month and launch the program next month.
"By combining Chungnam Technopark's hands-on corporate support capabilities with KAIST's outstanding research capabilities, we will back the tech commercialization efforts of materials, parts, and equipment companies in South Chungcheong," a provincial official said.
