The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has established a legal basis for promoting manufacturing innovation policies by enacting the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Act.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it will prepare subordinate statutes for the 'Act on Promotion of Smart Manufacturing Innovation in SMEs' enacted in January and will put them into full effect starting on the 4th.

The main contents of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Act are: △Promotion system for digital transformation policies for small and medium-sized manufacturers, △Detailed support policy regulations such as smart factory construction, △Matters related to policy implementation management such as sanctions against violators, etc.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, “The enactment and implementation of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Act is an expression of the current government’s interest and will to strongly promote digital manufacturing innovation.”

It is explained that the significance lies in the establishment of a legal basis for the stable promotion of manufacturing innovation policies and the activation of a data-based manufacturing innovation ecosystem.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it is working on a strategy for innovation in manufacturing for small and medium-sized enterprises that reflects global manufacturing paradigm trends, such as autonomous manufacturing using AI and digital twin technologies, and overcomes problems with previous smart factory support projects, using the enforcement of the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Act.br />
The strategy includes fostering a leading manufacturing innovation model through customized support for each company that takes into account the level of digital transformation and supply chain of small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as establishing manufacturing data standardization and data sharing infrastructure.

It also includes support for building digital clusters, fostering policies for suppliers through startup and R&D support, and application for regulatory improvements necessary for smart manufacturing innovation activities.

Kim Woo-joong, director of regional enterprise policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “With the enforcement of this law, a stable policy environment has been established for promoting digital manufacturing innovation, so we plan to strongly promote digital transformation policies for SMEs in the future.”