The textile and fashion industry remains a key pillar of Korean manufacturing.
| Speed Factoring is spreading throughout the entire textile and fashion process.
Establishment of a demonstration line and industry expansion starting in 2022

On the 26th, the government held the 18th Economic Revitalization Measures Meeting and announced a joint plan with relevant ministries to revitalize the textile and fashion industry.

This plan is a follow-up measure established as part of the "Transformation through Innovation of Key Industries" presented in the "Manufacturing Renaissance Vision and Strategy" on the 19th. It includes an innovation strategy to make the textile and fashion industry smart through convergence with ICT and 5G, and to transform it into a new materials industry for the advanced automobile and aviation industries.

The government plans to support the development of core technologies and pilot projects to expand speed factoring across all textile and fashion processes, and to create public demand for advanced textile materials in fields such as national defense, safety, and transportation.

Speedfactory refers to a business-to-consumer (B2C) model of the textile and fashion industry that aims to produce customized products by receiving consumer orders at stores based on the automation of existing smart factory production processes.

The textile and fashion industry was a key driver of Korea's economic growth in the past, but its competitiveness has significantly weakened since the 2000s.

However, considering the number of companies (4,800) and the number of employees (300,000) currently in charge of the textile and fashion industry, the Korean economyThe proportion of occupies in is still large,

Textiles are a type of platform used by everyone, everywhere, and thus have great potential for convergence with other industries, and are an industry with high potential for growth into a cutting-edge, high value-added industry.

The government concluded that change and innovation were necessary from the manufacturing process (speed factor) to the product (industrial textiles) through convergence with other industries such as textiles, ICT, automobiles, and aviation, and thus developed this plan to revitalize the textile and fashion industry.

The government will support the development of core technologies for sewing, dyeing, and shoemaking speed factories until 2021, and promote the establishment of demonstration lines and industry expansion from 2021 to 2022.

In sewing, we are building an integrated management system that covers planning, production, and delivery using robots, process automation, and ICT.

In dyeing, we will build an automated production line for all processes, including dyeing and processing, to resolve the chronic shortage of manpower and lack of skilled technology.

The shoe industry is solving labor shortages and increasing productivity through automation of the entire process from ordering to production and delivery, as well as through ICT integration, thereby promoting the return of companies that have relocated overseas.

A collaborative system based on a smart factory data platform will also be implemented starting in 2021 to efficiently produce various small-quantity individual orders, such as customized clothing.

In addition, the plan is to support the expansion of human resources in the textile and fashion industry, the development and commercialization of technologies such as carbon fiber, aramid, and high-definition dyeing, the advancement of production facilities, and the fostering of global powerhouses through export-oriented businesses.