Stable domestic settlement of returning domestic companies and
Support for advanced manufacturing robots to enhance competitiveness
50% of the total project cost per company, up to a maximum of KRW 500 million


The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 21st that it had selected six companies that had returned to Korea as final recipients of support through the 'Robot Utilization Manufacturing Innovation Support Project' (supplementary budget of 2 billion won) through a public offering held in July to support the return of overseas companies to Korea.

This project provides up to 50% of the robot introduction cost to companies designated as returning domestic companies. Considering that relocating overseas production facilities to Korea requires high investment costs such as building new or expanded factories, the support amount was expanded (KRW 300 million for general companies → KRW 500 million for returning companies).

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups comprehensively considered the excellence of robot application technology, usability, market ripple effect, and urgency, and selected six U-turn companies through a one-month evaluation process that included document screening, presentation evaluation, and on-site evaluation.

An official from Remote Solutions, which was selected for the project, said, “As labor costs at overseas factories continued to rise, we considered returning to Korea. This opportunity allowed us to resolve the labor cost issue and secure consistent product quality by establishing a production line utilizing robots.”

Meanwhile, “Introducing advanced manufacturing robots increased production in the pre-assembly process by 260% and reduced the process defect rate. “We expect to see increased sales next year through effects such as a 500% reduction in sales and a 210% reduction in cost,” he said.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups expects that the introduction of 33 advanced manufacturing robots to the six selected U-turn companies will lead to automation in various processes such as assembly, processing, inspection, transportation, and packaging, and the introduction of robots to three companies in high-risk industries will lead to improvements in the work environment, including a reduction in industrial accidents.

In addition, the related budget will be increased next year to expand the use of manufacturing robots (KRW 10.5 billion in 2020 → KRW 19 billion in 2021 (plan) / ↑81%).