Support for Mid-sized Companies to Secure "Super-gap Technologies"...KRW 1 Trillion "Deca-core Project" Launched

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Unveils Third Mid-sized Enterprise Growth Promotion Plan

Securing Ten System-level Super-gap Technologies

Integrated Support for R&D, Demonstration, Production, and Exports by Growth Stage

The government has decided to launch the “Deca-core” project, a KRW 1 trillion initiative aimed at fostering mid-sized companies—often considered the backbone of the Korean economy. Through this project, the government plans to develop anchor-type mid-sized companies that possess unrivaled technologies.

On October 1, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a meeting with mid-sized enterprise leaders at Hanamicron, a semiconductor post-processing specialist located in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, and announced the “Third Mid-sized Enterprise Growth Promotion Basic Plan (2026–2030).”

The Act on Promotion of Growth for Mid-sized Enterprises was first enacted as a temporary law in 2014 and became a permanent law in 2023. Under this act, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has established the basic direction and strategies for mid-sized company policy through two previous basic plans, and has now created the third basic plan.

◆Enhancing Core Capabilities of Mid-sized Companies= The government plans to foster anchor-type mid-sized enterprises that possess proprietary technological capabilities and intellectual property (IP). Toward this goal, it will launch the Deca-core project. Centered on mid-sized enterprises, universities and research institutions will collaborate to secure ten system-level super-gap technologies—beyond individual materials or components—under a total budget of KRW 1 trillion from 2027 to 2035. A Planning Committee including industry and technology and supply chain experts will be formed by the end of the year to identify candidate assignments. The project will support all phases—from the development of core materials, components, equipment, and processes that comprise systems, to patenting and standardization, and commercialization and global expansion, including sales channels and certifications.

The mid-sized business sector will independently develop items suffering from supply chain bottlenecks or subject to overseas dependency, as identified via trade data and industry demand surveys. The government will provide integrated support, ranging from the development of core technologies to the adoption of product specifications by global customers.

Support will also be enhanced to help small enterprises grow into mid-sized companies and, subsequently, large corporations. Research and development (R&D), demonstration, production, and export support will be linked according to each growth stage: “candidate mid-sized company → emerging mid-sized company → leading mid-sized company.” Candidate mid-sized firms will have their R&D achievements as small businesses connected to the Ministry’s reliability and mass-production assessments and follow-up commercialization support. Emerging mid-sized enterprises will receive support to bridge gaps in finance, R&D, and facilities. Leading mid-sized companies will be provided with information on international large-scale project orders, partner matching, bid preparation, and order guarantees.

◆Regional mid-sized companies to invest over KRW 13.7 trillion= The government also plans to foster mid-sized companies as engines of regional economic growth. To address the overconcentration in the greater Seoul area and ensure balanced local development, the government will link “5 Core–3 Specialized Growth Engines” and enhance investment incentives for key regional mid-sized companies, providing policy-based financing, talent, and infrastructure support. The plan is to expand collaborative R&D involving regional mid-sized and small companies, universities, and research institutes, so that mid-sized companies can grow into “micro-large companies” within the region.

The response to industrial paradigm shifts, such as AI and carbon neutrality, will also be strengthened. The government will actively implement the Manufacturing Artificial Intelligence Transformation for Mid-sized Companies (M.AX), which discovers and spreads AI models that can be used in industrial fields such as materials, components, engineering, enterprise, and energy. Support will also be provided for eco-friendly facility investments by mid-sized companies with high carbon emissions—such as those in the steel and chemical sectors—as well as for safety transformation (SX) in manufacturing sites.

Kim Joungkwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, “Mid-sized enterprises are the backbone of our economy as well as the ‘middle power’ that connects value chains between large and small businesses. They have both the flexibility and agility of small companies and the capital and technological capabilities of large ones, and can provide innovation and dynamism to the Korean economy. As the growth of enterprises directly drives national economic growth, the government will lay down the growth ladder so that mid-sized companies can become anchor enterprises with proprietary technologies.”

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