The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Statistics will introduce a special classification system for the smart manufacturing technology industry, taking effect Friday. The new framework is South Korea's first national standard to categorize smart manufacturing technology suppliers — covering manufacturing AI, industrial robots, digital twins and smart sensors — from an industrial activity perspective.
The ministry said Thursday that while the manufacturing sector's digital transformation has been advancing rapidly, the absence of a dedicated industrial classification for smart manufacturing technology suppliers has made it difficult to accurately gauge the size and growth trajectory of the sector. The need for a special classification to systematically develop smart manufacturing technology companies has consistently been raised as a result.
The new classification system comprises four major categories: smart manufacturing automation equipment manufacturing, smart manufacturing connectivity equipment manufacturing, smart manufacturing information technology solution development and supply, and smart manufacturing intelligence services. These are further divided into seven intermediate categories and 34 subcategories.
The number of registered smart manufacturing technology companies has grown sharply since the government launched a smart factory rollout program in 2014, rising from 299 in 2016 to 2,741 as of June this year. However, the smart manufacturing technology level of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises stands at 74.9 when the United States is benchmarked at 100, underscoring the need to strengthen technological competitiveness.
The new classification is expected to serve as a statistical foundation underpinning the government's policy to foster manufacturing AI, going beyond a simple industrial taxonomy. The government plans to use the framework to conduct regular surveys on industry size and company status, analyze policy effectiveness, and apply findings to smart manufacturing support projects, research and development, and specialist company development policies.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to conduct regular surveys on the state of smart manufacturing technology companies and nurture globally competitive firms through strategic technology roadmaps and a specialist company designation system. The ministry also intends to pursue a comprehensive revision of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Act in the second half of this year.
"By establishing this special classification, we can now systematically track the size and growth trends of the smart manufacturing technology industry and address blind spots in policy support," said Kwon Sun-jae, the ministry's director general for regional enterprise policy. "We will identify capable small and medium-sized enterprises in smart manufacturing technology, expand their collaboration with client companies, and support their growth into global specialist firms."
boo@heraldcorp.com
