GSTEP Guides the Pan-gyo Techno Valley as an R&D Mecca of Global Technology
GSTEP Guides the Pan-gyo Techno Valley as an R&D Mecca of Global Technology
  • Kim Sung-mi (info@koreaittimes.com)
  • 승인 2012.04.06 17:16
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SEOUL, KOREA — When you get to Pan-gyo IC after driving about 20 minutes on Gyungbu Highway, you will definitely encounter a huge variety and abundance of state-of-the-art skyscrapers to the east. This is so-called “Pan-gyo Techno Valley” that Gyeonggi-do or Gyeonggi Province is trying to build on the scale of 661,925m2 in Pangyo New Town, Seongnam by investing KRW 5,270.5 billion since 2005.

Two hundred ninety four small and medium-sized businesses in the field of cutting-edge technology are scheduled to move into Pan-gyo Techno Valley. It includes 177 businesses in the IT industry dealing with communications, semiconductors and software development. It also involves 38 businesses in the BT industry which deals with drug development and medical equipment. In addition to that 35 software developers in the game industry will be located there as well.

Pan-gyo Global R&D Complex

With Ahnlab at the head of the list, 15 promising domestic corporations such as Institut Pasteur Korea, LIG Nex1, Samsung Techwin, and SK Chemicals have already moved in. Furthermore, buildings of 15 enterprises are now under construction including famous online game companies such as NCsoft, NEXON, NHN Corporation and NEOWIZ. OCON, the producer of popular animation Pororo is situated in Pan-gyo Techno Valley too. New Bundang Line, which transports you from Gangnam to Pan-gyo in only 14 minutes, has been in service since last October, which provides a great accessibility by the public transit. Once all the businesses are settled by 2015, the place will be the biggest cutting-edge global R&D complex in Korea where about 80,000 employees will be working.

With the background of huge metropolitan consumer market areas where 20 million people reside, and adjacent to Seoul Teheran-ro, Gwanggyo Techno Valley, Bundang IT Valley, and Paju LCD Complex, Pan-gyo Techno Valley is expected to have great potential to be the hub of Korea’s Pioneering Convergence Technologies Belt as a major innovative venue in Gyunggi Province.

Pan-gyo Techno Valley started its construction with the purpose of developing global R&D Cluster and providing the hub of business complex in Pan-gyo New Town in 2005. The strengths of Pan-gyo Techno Valley include convenient transportation, top-class R&D personnel and modern housing. In its proximity are Seoul, Incheon Airport, Incheon Port, and Pyeongtaek Port. An effective transportation infrastructure is in place with connection to the national basic road system, Seoul beltway, and New Bundang subway line. Talented researchers who got their college diplomas in Seoul and Gyeonggi province are waiting to be recruited. By activating the joint research between companies and R&D centers, which in turn is associated with IT, BT, NT, and CT, the venue will be able to have a great ripple effect as well as build the best knowledge-based infrastructure.

Lee Won-young, President of GSTEP

“As foreign investment enterprises’ preference is in transition from production site to R&D center, investment demand for R&D facilities is on the rise.” Lee Won-young, President of Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion (GSTEP) explains. “The Global R&D Center with the scale of 17,364 m2 in Bundang, Seongnam, was built last March as the growth pole by forming System-on-chips Cluster, the core of new growth power.” GSTEP leads the industrial development and the innovation in Pan-gyo Techno Valley Complex. GSTEP plans to attract more global R&D businesses that have a strong growth potential and a big ripple effect on businesses already sitting there. The Global R&D Center will house IT- or convergence technology-related businesses and universities, and public research centers to promote industry-academia-research institute cooperation. System-on-chip research departments of KERI (Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute) and ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) are planned to move in.

Pan-gyo Techno Valley, aspiring to be Korea’s Silicon Valley, is striving to become a leading global R&D cluster, and GSTEP will play a key role as system organizer of the cluster. GSTEP established in 2010, emerges as a key icon of the science and technology development in Gyeonggi Province. It is credited as the first promotion institute of science and technology established and run by the local government among 16 local governments.

 

President Lee (in the center) with Staffs of GSTEP

GSTEP marking its third year

“While building up the system for the promotion policy of science and technology, GSTEP has been in charge of organizing infrastructure for science and technology that enables Gyeonggi Province to integrate the R&D business, research centers, and universities on an individual basis.” Dr. Lee explained.

GSTEP is now performing comprehensive roles: research on science & technology policy of Gyeonggi Province, support industrial innovation clusters, run “Gyeonggi Province Technology Development Program” which supports R&D activities of small & medium-sized enterprises in Gyeonggi Province. In addition, it is benchmarked by other local governments as a role model for organizing the local policy of science and technology. GSTEP made it possible for Gyeonggi Province to design policies customized for Gyeonggi Province. Besides, it has achieved four cases of technology-transfer of the effective material, a case of clinical trial, eight cases of merchandising, and 54 trial manufactured goods.

 

Achievements of the past 2 years

For the past 2 years of R&D projects supported by GSTEP has achieved higher rate of commercialization success and created more jobs in comparison with the similar program by the central government per R&D spending. An evaluation study of 41 finished research projects sponsored by GSTEP shows that 27 cases succeed in commercialization, 66% of success rate that is way over 45% of similar program by the central government. Also, GSTEP built up the Industry Innovation Cluster Committee (IICC) participated by 1,300 business from 17 difference industries to reinforce the networking among industry, academia and research, and supported the operation of “Gyeonggi Council for Industry-Academia Cooperation Task Force” that serves as a centerpiece for Industry-Academia Cooperation Task Forces at 53 universities in the province. 

“There are 41 projects of successful commercialization, in that sales increased by KRW 21.7 billion, the cost of production lowered by KRW 1 billion, and 307 jobs were created.” Dr. Lee boasts. GSTEP’s R&D support program created many success stories. CLSLAB succeeded in the development of asymmetric synthetic-material used for medicine production. Thanks to the technology development that streamlines the production line while maintaining the pure quality, the company has made supply contract of products with three multinational pharmaceutical companies, amounting to KRW 3 billion. FASTECH has developed the motion controller and the motor drive. This technology has been reexported to Japan with the sales of KRW 4 billion. Cyborg-Lab developed the next-generation multi-joint robot for large LCD macro examinations. The product recorded the sales of as much as KRW 5.4 billion in domestic and Chinese markets. It took two years to develop the product.


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