A large-scale financial support program aimed at assisting public research institutions and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in commercializing technology is set to be implemented.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that an amendment to the Small and Medium Enterprises Technology Innovation Act was approved by the Cabinet on May 20 and will take effect immediately.
Historically, SMEs have faced challenges in securing funding to commercialize results from R&D or promising technologies transferred from public research institutions due to a lack of financial support mechanisms.
The amendment introduces new financial support systems, including 'commercialization guarantees' and 'liquidity guarantees,' to alleviate the financial burdens associated with translating national R&D outcomes into industry applications.
The total support amount for this initiative is 340 billion won, comprising 260 billion won for commercialization guarantees and 80 billion won for liquidity guarantees. The ministry plans to begin providing guarantee support as early as next month.
With this amendment, the scope of financial support has expanded from just SMEs to include public research institutions. Notably, the support is tailored for SMEs that aim to commercialize completed national R&D projects or technologies transferred from public research institutions.
Commercialization guarantees will now be evaluated based on project performance rather than solely on company metrics, allowing for support of up to 10 billion won.
Liquidity guarantees will assess not only current revenues but also the potential future value and commercialization prospects of the businesses.
Hwang Young-ho, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "This amendment will ensure that excellent technology development results do not go to waste but instead contribute to business growth and profit generation, creating a virtuous cycle where profits are reinvested into technology development. We expect the utilization and efficiency of national R&D outcomes to significantly improve."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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