Samsung to Support Smart Factory Transformation for 17 Manufacturing Companies in Jeonnam-Gwangju

Up to 60 Million Won in Support per Company from Government and Samsung
Special City to Provide Additional Support of up to 20 Million Won for Six Gwangju Companies

Seventeen manufacturing companies in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region will begin building smart factories with support from Samsung Electronics.

On August 27, Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City announced that Samsung Electronics held the 'Large and Small Business Win-Win Smart Factory Kickoff' event at the Gwangju Second Campus located in the Hanam Industrial Complex, Gwangsan District, Gwangju.

Min Hyung-bae, former mayor of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, attended the 'Large and Small Business Win-Win Smart Factory Kickoff' held at the Gwangju 2nd Campus in Hanam Industrial Complex, Gwangsan-gu, on the 27th, delivering a congratulatory speech. Provided by Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City

Smart factories are facilities where production and manufacturing processes are automated or made intelligent by utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics.

The event was attended by Min Hyungbae, Mayor of Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City; Kwon Sunjae, Regional Corporate Policy Director at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; Park Seunghee, President of Samsung Electronics; Byun Taeseop, Secretary-General of the Foundation for Large, Small, and Agricultural Business Cooperation; as well as representatives from the selected companies, totaling around 300 participants.

Attendees shared the results of the smart factory support project that had been promoted up to last year, and toured Samsung Electronics' smart factories for home appliances and mold production.

The 'Large and Small Business Win-Win Samsung Smart Factory Support Project' is overseen by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and organized by Samsung Electronics. The Foundation for Large, Small, and Agricultural Business Cooperation, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and others are also participating. The initiative helps small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses build smart factories tailored to their scale and production conditions.

This year, 181 domestic SMEs have been selected to receive support. Of these, 17 companies—8 in Gwangju and 9 in Jeonnam—are located in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region. Each company will be eligible for support up to 60 million won, with up to 30 million won provided each by the government and Samsung Electronics.

Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City also plans to provide additional support of up to 20 million won to 6 of the 8 Gwangju companies that are in the early stages of building their smart factories.

Since 2015, Samsung Electronics has supported the smart factory construction of more than 3,600 companies nationwide over the past 11 years. In the Jeonnam-Gwangju region, 232 companies—128 in Gwangju and 104 in Jeonnam—have received such support.

Companies that have introduced the Samsung model of smart factory have seen their productivity increase by 44% and their defect rates decrease by 53%. Sales grew by 24%, and, as of 2025, the satisfaction rate among these companies reached 93.8%.

Mayor Min Hyungbae stated, "Samsung has been sharing its experience and technology on-site with SMEs for 11 years. We will continue working to create an environment that fosters more investment and growth for companies in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.