South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT drew up the Fifth Comprehensive Plan for Fostering R&D Special Zones (2026-2030), setting out the event path for the subsequent 5 years. It finalised the plan on April 10 after deliberation and approval on the 58th R&D Special Zones Committee assembly.
R&D special zones are key hubs that promote regional industry-academia-research R&D and help commercialisation of analysis outcomes and entrepreneurship. There are at present 6 wide-area special zones together with Daedeok, Gwangju, Daegu, Busan, North Jeolla and Gangwon, and 13 “strong” special zones designated as small, high-density innovation clusters centred on core expertise establishments.
The plan is a statutory plan that applies to all zones beneath the Special Act on Fostering R&D Special Zones. The ministry established it via evaluation of inside and exterior situations and the present standing of the zones, opinion-gathering together with a public listening to, and consultations with associated ministries.
The ministry set a imaginative and prescient of a “glocal innovation cluster of R&D special zones connecting regions and the world through science and technology innovation”. It will pursue 3 key coverage duties and 10 sub-tasks: creating and rising deeptech firms, upgrading the expansion ecosystem and innovation-led development of the zones.
To create deeptech firms, it would develop startups primarily based on analysis outcomes and strengthen step-by-step help. It will develop planning-type startup programmes that establish excellent outcomes from universities, science and expertise institutes and government-funded analysis institutes, and help the institution of analysis lab firms and early-stage startups. It may also strengthen tailor-made bundle help by stage for promising analysis lab firms, and develop regulatory special instances and fast-track programmes for new-technology demonstrations.
To improve the expansion ecosystem, it would develop the funding base. It will create a 20 billion received First Deep Fund for early-stage startups and a 100 billion received Scale-up Fund for development firms. It will foster expertise primarily based on regional demand and help folks to settle of their areas.
It will construct an AI-based built-in platform for expertise commercialisation to mechanically match analysis outcomes with company demand and promote startups and commercialisation. It may also develop infrastructure reminiscent of convergence analysis innovation centres, demonstration infrastructure and commercialisation help services to construct an end-to-end help atmosphere linking analysis, commercialisation and development.
To drive innovation-led development within the zones, it would construct a development path that runs from robust to wide-area to international. Strong special zones will pursue purposeful enlargement as hubs centred on specialised applied sciences. Wide-area special zones will likely be developed into clusters centred on ultra-wide regional cooperation, and on the international stage it would help a leap into nationwide flagship innovation hubs. It may also construct an ultra-wide regional system primarily based on “5 poles and 3 specials” to strengthen cooperation amongst zones.
It may also introduce an analysis system reflecting zone kind and development stage. It will apply differentiated block funding to top-performing wide-area special zones and take into account incentives reminiscent of easing space limits for top-performing robust special zones.
The plan additionally consists of specialised methods for every wide-area and robust special zone. The ministry plans to report annual implementation outcomes to the R&D Special Zones Committee to assessment progress.
Deputy Prime Minister Kyung-hoon Bae (배경훈), who additionally serves as minister of science and ICT, stated R&D special zones have contributed to constructing regional industrial foundations via expanded designation. He stated the ministry would actively help them to change into key hubs main balanced development beneath “5 poles and 3 specials” on the again of the fifth plan.