S. Korea to nurture southwest region as hub of automotive startups

The presidential office said Tuesday that South Korea will help nurture the country's southwestern region as a center of automotive startups in cooperation with Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest carmaker.

Cheong Wa Dae said Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller sister company Kia Motors Corp. will provide about 1,000 unused patents to those who want to open automotive startups in an innovation center in Gwangju, a city located about 330 kilometers south of Seoul.

"Hyundai Motor will offer substantial assistance in the whole process of corporate growth ranging from development of ideas to industrialization to making inroads into global markets," President Park Geun-hye said in a ceremony marking the launch of an innovation center in Gwangju.

Gwangju is the latest city to launch an innovation center meant to nurture local startups and venture firms with the assistance of conglomerates, known as chaebol in South Korea.

South Korea has so far created five innovation centers, including one that is supported by Samsung Group, South Korea's largest family-controlled conglomerate whose flagship unit is Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top smartphone maker.

South Korea plans to set up 12 other innovation centers in major cities across the country within this year as part of Park's push to build a creative economy.

Park's signature creative economy vision calls for boosting the economy and creating jobs by turning creative ideas into real businesses through science and technology and information technology.

She views creativity as the key impetus to help improve Asia's fourth-largest economy amid concerns that it is still not on a recovery path.

Park's office also said a 52.5 billion won (US$48 million) fund will be created to help develop new automotive technology and provide assistance to potential startups. (Yonhap)