Last June, Mr. Park Eun Kyu, head of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry division of South Korea’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, announced on stage at the Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo in Seoul that the Korean government would adopt 3D printing. Was about to leave in a big way. In his speech he outlined a plan to build the infrastructure and educate the people needed to allow Korea to contribute and compete in the 3D printing marketplace.
At the time he said that by this fall the government would open several educational centers to train business leaders and teachers in this new technology, and provide universities and public schools with appropriate curriculum to help educate future generations. . He also mentioned that by 2016, some 1,600 Korean public schools would be provided with 3D printers for students to use, although he did not specify what type of printer, or who would provide them.
Those plans have now become a bit more concrete as representatives of the South Korean government have announced that they are preparing a 10-year plan to promote and develop 3D printing into a new growth market and transform Korean manufacturing. The inaugural meeting of the ‘3D Printing Strategy Technology Road-Map’ group took place last week at the Da-K Hotel in downtown Seoul. The meeting was seen as a follow-up measure to the ‘3D Printing Industry Development Strategy’ discussion organized by the National Council of Science and Technology last April.
The announcement outlined how this country’s ministries of science, ICT and future planning, as well as trade, industry and energy, were required to gather and develop feedback and information from industry insiders as well as members of the public. The task has been assigned. A clear plan and set of goals for the implementation of 3D printing technologies for Korea … and it is to be ready by this October.
The General Committee will be divided into 4 sub-committees, each of which will deal with the same subject; equipment, material, software, or application. The members will be experts selected from the respective academic institutions, research institutes and private corporations. The committees will examine and analyze the demand for each technology category, as well as environmental changes in the industry, now and in the near future. Subsequently, the committee will establish phased technology procurement strategies for the next ten years.
During the first five years of the program, planners will emphasize specific mile markers associated with the automotive, medical and electronics industries. For the next five years, planners will develop in more general directions based on then known forecasts of future demand.
Since late last year, budget plans have asked the government to donate some 15,000,000,000 korean won (~$15 million USD) to the development of 3D printing technology. The Korean National Assembly, realizing the importance of 3D printing, increased the budget allocation for the first five years of the plan to 26,000,000 KRW (~26 million USD).
In its statement, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning noted that the 3D market is currently dominated by a handful of global companies that own the core technologies, and although some South Korean firms have their own technologies; Their competitive edge in this area is still blunt in comparison to the leading companies globally. It said that a government-led scheme was necessary for better coordination of research efforts being carried out in various universities and institutions of the country.
In addition, according to the Yonhap news agency, the ministry said it plans to deploy 3D printers in 227 libraries and 5,885 schools across the country by 2017 and 10 million South Koreans to use 3D printers by 2020. planning to train. One-sixth of the total population of the country.
“The 3D printing industry is a new growth engine to bring innovation to the manufacturing sector,” Lee Kwan-seok, an official at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, told Yonhap News yesterday. He also added: “[3D printing] is anticipated to play an important role in the country’s creative economy drive by convergence with the ICT sector.”
The South Korean government is actively pursuing its Creative Economy Drive, which refers to moves that seek new and inventive business opportunities as well as more jobs through the fusion of information technology and other industries, Which is one of its main policies.
