Certification System to Spur SMEs' Tech Development and Buy Their Products Yields Tangible Results

The 12th Convention for Encouraging the Purchase of New Technologies Commercialized and Certified Products was held in Seoul recently

Approximately 500 NEP-certified smaller firms and procurement staff of public organizations got together at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul on Nov. 11 to encourage public organizations to buy newly commercialized technologies and certified products. Also on hand at the convention were Jung Jang-seon, chairman of the National Assembly Knowledge Economy Committee, Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy Rim Chae-min, and Nam In-suk, administrator of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS).
The convention is organized annually by the KATS under the umbrella of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) with the goal of creating an environment in which public entities can be induced to purchase NEP (New Excellent Product) -certified products and GR (Good Recycling) products SMEs churn out as well as helping SMEs secure competitiveness in the global market, said Kim Ik-soo, director of the New Technology Promotion Division at the KATS.
The KATS's certification business will be expanded to take over certification jobs, done by the former Ministry of Information Communication and the Ministry of Science Technology, which have been dismantled by the reorganization of government agencies by the Lee Myung-bak government.
Thirty-two companies and 33 individuals were presented with orders, presidential awards and other government prizes in recognition of their contributions to the commercialization of certified products and the inducement of their purchase.
The Order of Industrial Merit Service, Silver Tower went to Kang Sung-hee, CEO of AUTECH Corp., which developed the suspension control device that can be used for multi-purpose firefighting vehicles and special ambulances.
MKE Vice Minister Rim said in a message at the convention that the five Korean mainstay industries, including semiconductor, automobile and shipbuilding, have made strides to place fifth place in the world in terms of competitiveness, and such a marked achievement can be obtained as a result of the government and the private sector's joint efforts to concentrate on the development of technologies. The convention served as an opportunity to ensure that the certification system can spur the commercialization of new technologies and public entities' purchases of new products made with such technologies, and the government will strive to explore ways of promoting simultaneous growth by public entities and SMEs and accelerating the purchase of certified products, he noted.
The chairman of the National Assembly Knowledge Economy Committee said in a commemorative speech that the parts and materials industries are not only the starting point of producing state-of-the-art products in such industries as semiconductor and automobile, but also a driving force that determines each country's competitive edge, thus serving as a solid foundation to develop new technologies in the fields and sway their national competitiveness in the future. He noted that it is significant for the convention to give an impetus for substituting imports through the commercialization of technologies and shore up the national economy.
Data made available at the KATS showed that 470 NEP (New Excellent Products) -certified firms reported higher business performances -- seeing their sales rising 4.8 percent to 98.98 trillion won in 2007 from 94.24 trillion won in 2006. Total sales of certified products amounted to 1.677 trillion won in 2007, up 16.1 percent or an increase of 270.1 billion won from 1.407 trillion won in 2006. The value of certified products substituting imports surged to 1.179 trillion won in 2007, up 20.5 percent or an increase of 120.9 billion won from 936.9 billion won in 2006. Certified products saw exports rising 5.9 percent or 29.2 billion won from 470.2 billion won in 2006 to 499.4 billion won in 2007.
Public entities saw their purchases of certified products more than doubling to 196 billion won in 2007 from 96.7 billion won in 2006. The value of their 2007 purchases accounted for 11.7 percent of combined certified product sales.
Under the New Excellent Technology (NET) system, designed to promote the development of Korea's first technologies and substitutes, a total of 260 NET certificates were issued during the period between 2006 and December 2008.
A survey of recycling companies with 1 billion won or more in sales showed that 87 percent of the total were found to have obtained Good Recycling (GR) certificates. nw

(from left) Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy Rim Chae-min speaks at a meeting of NEP-certified smaller firms and procurement employees of public organizations at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Nov. 11.