KATS Names 10 Best
New Technology Awards

The 2006 list includes 6 technologies developed for first time in the world

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy announced on Dec. 20 the list of 10 best new technology products named as the Global Best 10 New Technology Products for this year in a ceremony for the 2006 Korea Ten Best Technology Awards at the auditorium of the Korea Agency for Standards and Technology.
The list included 6 technologies developed for the first time in the world and 4 top-level technologies. The list also breaks down to three each from electronics and machinery sectors and four new growth industries including 2 IT, 1 BT and 1 Nano and companies included 6 large firms, 2 middle-level firms and 2 SMEs.
In terms of economic effects, products made with those best technologies totaled 1.5 trillion won and it is expected to rise to 9 trillion won annually in 2010, increasing 6 times from this year? figure.
MOCIE Minister Chung Sye-kyun, in his congratulatory speech, said the MOCIE will lead the nation's effort to achieve $500 billion in annual exports,
in consideration of the public wish for Korea to become a strong technology country in the world.
The minister went on to say that the ministry will try to maximize the effects of the selection by coming up with support strategies for continuous growth of those technologies by following their competitive power through the network connecting the government and companies.
To pick the 10 best technologies for this year, the 22-man selection committee headed by professor Han Min-koo of Seoul National University examined 78 new technologies commercialized this year and also taking into consideration the electronic vote results by some 3,000 industry technicians for more objectivity in the selection.
Chairman Han said the committee tried hard to make sure that those technologies are creative, and innovative on world-level with high concentration and competitive power to help exports of their products for a large economic impact on the national economic growth.
To view the technologies selected in the electronics industry, they included LG Electronics' "steam-type drum washing machine," "100-inch TFT LCD"by LG-Philips LCD, and "MEMs Probe Card"by Phicom. In the machinery sector included "Large V-6 Lamda Engine"developed by Hyundai and Kia automakers, "Ice Cracking Cargo Ship for Navigating Pole Regions under All Weather Conditions,"developed by Samsung Heavy Industries, "Semi-Position Type Cydon Plus ALD/SD CVD Semiconductor Equipment"one each from the troika industries in the export sector, automobile, Shipbuilding and Semiconductor.
In the IT sector were "Super-speed Mobile Internet Wibro Technology"belonging to Samsung Electronics, "Scientific Battle Training System"developed by Ssangyong Information Communication.
Choi Kaphong, administrator of KATS said KATS will spare no effort to build the image of Technology Korea that moves the world by making "2006 Korea 10 Best New Technologies world-famous brands. In order to realize the aim, KATS will submit the 10 top technologies selected every to the World Technology Awards(WTA),
which is called the Nobel prizes for the technology sector, to make them Korea's representative brands." The World Technology Network, set up in 2000, organizes the WTA every year in an effort to connect world-class new technologies with commercialism. Its members include scientists, business executives, financiers, politicians, and journalists and over 100 business firms and organizations, totaling some 1,000 from 60 countries. Among notable members are Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, and Vice Chairman Yun Jong-yong of Samsung Electronics, Prof. Chung Kyung-won of KAIST in the area of design, Prof. Chon Kil-nam of KAIST in the area of information technology, and Prof. Lee Sun-il of Hongik University in the area of design, among others. Sony and IBM, among corporate members.
WTA held this year's award ceremony in San Francisco City Hall and its conference at Fairmont Hotel in the famous U.S. city Nov. 2-3. The Imperial University in Britain held the first award ceremony for WTA in 2001, followed by UN Headquarters in New York to hold the second award ceremony in 2002. nw

Administrator Choi Kaphong of Korea Agency of Technology and Standards.

(photo from above) "Super-speed Mobile Internet Wibro Technology"developed by Samsung Electronics.; "Drum Injection Steam Washing Machine"made by LG Electronics.: "Large V-6 Lamda Engine"developed by Hyundai, Kia automakers.