The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance plan to prepare a supplementary budget of 4 billion won in the second half of the year to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing difficulties in exporting due to factors such as MERS and the weak yen, and to promote swift execution of the funds.

The smart factory expansion project is being promoted as part of the Park Geun-hye administration's core reform task, the "Manufacturing Innovation 3.0 Strategy," and plans to build 900 smart factories by the second half of this year.

This includes the distribution of 350 companies by industry led by the existing 9 major corporations and the distribution of individual factories through securing additional financial resources such as regional investment subsidies (KRW 10 billion) and supplementary budget (KRW 4 billion).

The supplementary budget project will see the Creative Economy Innovation Center serve as a central organization for the expansion of regional smart factories, identifying participating companies specializing in key regional industries and supporting the construction of smart factories.

In particular, the smart factory support project currently underway at two Creative Economy Innovation Centers, Gyeongbuk (Samsung) and Gwangju (Hyundai), will be expanded to innovation centers nationwide to meet regional demand.

Companies selected for the Smart Factory Distribution and Expansion Project will receive support for building smart factory solutions to improve production processes and save energy, as well as purchasing automation equipment, controllers, and sensors linked to the solutions.

Interested companies can apply to their regional Creative Economy Innovation Center. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Creative Economy Innovation Center will select and evaluate participating companies and finalize the list in August.

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