Samsung Collaborates with the Korean Government in Building Smart Factories

Samsung Electronics Co. has agreed on Monday to build 600 smart factories to support small and medium-sized businesses in Korea. According to an article published Monday on The Korea Times, the building of "smart" or highly efficient factories across the country will kick off in 2017.

Samsung and the Korean Government will collaborate for this project, each pledging an investment worth 15 billion won. The two will have their respective move to promote the project and will come up with different production solutions.

"Both sides agreed to invest a total of 30 billion won ($25.3 million) to boost bilateral efforts for the smart factory project," the company's spokesperson states.

Aside from that, Samsung hopes that this collaboration will be an example of shared growth. Also, the company is planning to open an institution that will promote smart factories. The academy will be located in North Gyeongsang Province.

"Samsung Electronics has been conducting business to expand smart factories for SMEs in North Gyeongsang Province since the beginning of the year," the global technology center President Kim Jong Ho says. Enterprises will know more of the company's technological expertise in manufacturing.

"We expect the project to become a new growth model between conglomerates and SMEs," Kim says.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy will assist the tech giant in building infrastructure used for constructing the 600 smart factories.

"We are pushing to build 10,000 smart factories by 2020 for the smart ecosystem of the country's manufacturing," the agency's Vice Minister Lee Kwan Sup says.

He adds that, in order to maintain the project, they will invite more businesses to join them in this endeavor.