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    Korea
     Jun 10, 2006
 'Innovation clusters' mark turn in industry policy

SEOUL - South Korea is pushing to develop "clusters of innovation centers" around the country to help drive industrial growth, organizers of an international conference said Thursday.

The two-day Industrial Cluster Day conference in Seoul that runs till Friday, calls for the building and expansion of innovation centers across the country that can capitalize on local economic and technology advantages.

The gathering is hosted by the state-run Korea Industrial Complex


Corp. and supported by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

Seven regions in the country - Changwon, Gumi, Ulsan, Gwangju, Wonju, Gunsan and the Banwol-Sihwa region - are currently each host to a pilot cluster, with businesses focussing on a variety of fields ranging from machinery, automobile parts, mining technology and medical equipment.

"Increased industrial production, export growth and balanced regional development have driven South Korea's economy, but global trends call for more innovative methods to generate growth," said KICOX head Kim Chil-doo.

He said expansion of the value-generating clusters will boost research and development and generate closer cooperation between businesses schools and technology institutes. These developments can also boost employment, which the country sees as being a key part of growth.

Unlike normal industrial clusters, innovation clusters define roles for such services as consulting, research and development, and knowledge-based business activities, and focus on close cooperation between these sectors to generate value-added growth.

Kim also said that by the end of this year, KICOX will make efforts to finalize localized models for cluster-building, including the establishment of so-called mini-clusters, the pooling of expert manpower and creation of an on-line e-cluster network.

(Asia Pulse/Yonhap)

 

 
 



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