Han Seong-yong (left), head of the Green Infrastructure Division at Korea Water Resources Corporation, and Yoo Ju-hyeon (right), chief executive of the North Gyeongsang Creative Economy Innovation Center, pose after signing a memorandum of understanding on promoting open innovation at the center in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. [Korea Water Resources Corporation]
Han Seong-yong (left), head of the Green Infrastructure Division at Korea Water Resources Corporation, and Yoo Ju-hyeon (right), chief executive of the North Gyeongsang Creative Economy Innovation Center, pose after signing a memorandum of understanding on promoting open innovation at the center in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. [Korea Water Resources Corporation]

Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) signed a memorandum of understanding with the North Gyeongsang Creative Economy Innovation Center on Tuesday at the center's office in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, to promote open innovation.

Open innovation is a program that supports startup commercialization by opening up and linking the demonstration infrastructure and technological capabilities of public institutions and private companies.

Under the MOU, the two organizations will cooperate on: fostering regional co-growth including support for the startup ecosystem; identifying technologies needed for open innovation and planning joint projects; co-discovering and evaluating startups; supporting companies' digital and AI transformation through wateRound; and providing technology demonstration support through the National K-Testbed.

K-water will open its nationwide demonstration infrastructure — including the National K-Testbed and wateRound — to verify the real-world applicability of promising startup technologies and help them advance toward commercialization.

Also on Tuesday, K-water signed a separate three-party MOU for "2026 K-water Open Innovation PoC Support" with the innovation center and one North Gyeongsang Province-based startup, launching a concrete technology demonstration project.

The technology to be demonstrated uses AI to analyze how effectively small particles in water clump together during the purification process, helping ensure stable operation of water treatment systems.

K-water will provide a testbed environment at water purification plants and other facilities and support technical verification, while the North Gyeongsang Creative Economy Innovation Center will fund the demonstration project and oversee overall project management.

Alongside this, K-water and the North Gyeongsang Creative Economy Innovation Center will jointly operate a startup support project for open innovation in North Gyeongsang Province, focusing on the growth of promising climate tech startups.

"This agreement is significant in that it combines regional startup support infrastructure with resources held by public institutions to drive the substantive growth of climate tech companies," said Han Seong-yong, head of K-water's Green Infrastructure Division. "K-water will actively support the commercialization and technological advancement of innovative regional companies by leveraging its platforms, including wateRound and the National K-Testbed," he added.


thlee@heraldcorp.com