Contact Daniel Cavegn Science and Technology Counsellor ...

Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea
Ref. No: 652.0
December 2010
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NEWS FROM THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, DECEMBER 2010
Contact
Daniel Cavegn
Science and Technology Counsellor
Embassy of Switzerland in Seoul, Republic of Korea
Tel: +82 2 739 9511(ext. 722)
Email: daniel.cavegn@eda.admin.ch
Web: http://www.eda.admin.ch/seoul
A. Policies
Korea aims to lead in robotics (Korea Net of 16.12.2010)
The Korean government plans to nurture the local robotics industry to become a world leader by 2018. The plan
concentrates on the development of service robots for tasks like cleaning, household chores and language instruction.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced the robotics industry development plan on December 9. The
ministry aims to narrow the gap between Korea and other leading countries in the robotics industry and to raise Korea’s
international market share to 20 percent by 2018. Korea currently has a ten percent share of the market.
Though the industry is currently thought to be worth $9.4 billion worldwide, it is expected to grow to be worth $100
billion by 2018. The ministry aims to nurture the robotics industry to become as important to Korea as the automobile
and semiconductor industries by supporting overseas penetration, improving international competitiveness and securing
growth potential.
The ministry will also ask related sectors to carry out test projects for service robots, and inject 30 billion won into
related projects. Additionally, it will support standardization and encourage research and development projects with
countries like the United States and Japan.
The ministry will designate special high schools and strengthen cooperation between the industrial and academic
spheres by building robotics research centers in universities, By building related education programs in order to meet
the needs of the small and medium-sized enterprises in the industry, the ministry hopes to improve the industry as a
whole.
It will also establish a special zone to promote the robotics industry and plans to hold contests in robot design.
Gov’t to inject 1.2 trillion won in IT industry (Korea Net of 24.12.2010)
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has decided to incubate the software, semiconductor and system semiconductor
sectors of Korea's IT industry. The ministry announced its policy direction for the IT industry on December 20, and
announced that it will inject 1.2 trillion won into the sector next year.
It decided to allocate the software sector a 100 billion won-budget, four times higher than that of last year, and expand
its human resources nurturing program to incubate highly skilled manpower. (Left: Samsung's Galaxy S smart
phone) In order to develop the system semiconductor sector of the IT industry, the ministry will also support research
and development and market penetration of related corporations, as well as human resources development,
The ministry will further cooperate with related government organizations in order to develop IT-related sectors, including
smart TVs, LED products and 3D technology-based industries. Also, it will aim for localization of parts and
materials of semiconductors, LED products and smart phones, which are heavily dependent on overseas markets.
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Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea Dec 2010
Korean government releases detailed plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (Korea Net of 31.12.2010)
The Korean government will carry out a series of policy measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2011.
At a policy briefing meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on December 27, the Ministry of Environment announced the
details of its plans, starting in 2011, to achieve the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020.
To do so, the ministry will introduce a comprehensive "green card system" to widely apply the existing "carbon point
system" in which people receive carbon points by saving water, electricity or gas, using public transportation or purchasing
green products.
S. Korea aims to be top-four global producer of industrial materials (Yonhap News of 8.12.2010)
South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. said Wednesday that it has agreed to collaborate with two software companies,
including Microsoft Corp., to step up its cloud computing business, a service that lets users access data through the
Web.
As part of its efforts to secure another key technology in cloud computing, KT will takeover a local software venture
company, NexR, which owns technology to store and process a large amount of data on the Web, it said in a statement.
B. News
Local firm to sell stem cell tech to Japan (Korea Herald of 29.12.2010)
Anterogen, a Korean biotechnology venture, announced Wednesday that it signed a $4 million contract with Japan’s
Nippon Zoki Pharmaceutical to export its stem cell treatment technology for anal fistula in Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s
disease causes chronic inflammation of intestines along with ulcers. Severe ulcers can create a fistula or tiny channel
between intestines and adjacent organs, which punctures holes in the skin around the anus, causing drainage of
body secretions. There is no known pharmaceutical or surgical cure for the disease yet. Anterogen’s AdipoPlus
bases on stem cells extracted from adipose tissues. When injected into patients, it prompts tissue re-generation to
close the fistula, the firm said.
Under the deal, the life-science venture will transfer technologies to produce the remedy to the Japanese company
for $4 million plus a 15 percent royalty. “The contract came to realize after Nippon Zoki’s drug development officers,
clinical experts and good manufacturing practices professionals visited our office for systematic and meticulous
evaluations,” said Anterogen President Lee Sung-koo. “This technology export is the fruits of our persistent investment
in research and development over the past 10 years.” Nippon Zoki is a medium-sized pharmaceutical company
specialized in blood plasma-related treatments.
Samsung to invest 30 tril. won in 2011 (Korea Times of 4.1.2010)
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top computer memory maker, will likely spend more than 30 trillion won
($26.67 billion) in investment this year, industry sources said Tuesday. The forecast came a day after company
chairman Lee Kun-hee said that the company's investment for this year will be larger and bigger than last year's. The
company earmarked 26 trillion won ($23 billion) for investment in early 2010, including 18.2 trillion won in capital expenditure.
"Samsung is likely to execute a record amount of investment this year to consolidate its leadership in its
main businesses and to make a push into its new businesses for growth," said an industry source. "Given Lee's
strong will, the investment could possibly be over 30 trillion won."
Samsung, also the world's largest maker of liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels and the No. 2 player in the mobile
phone industry, hinted at another big expenditure in computer memory chips and LCD lines this week. Along with
industry runner-up LG Display Co., it received approval from the Chinese government to build new LCD production
lines in China.
KT launches new satellite for high-definition, 3-D broadcasting (Yonhap News of 30.12.2010)
South Korean telecom titan KT Corp. said Thursday that it has successfully launched and orbited a new broadcast
satellite to relay high-definition digital images and 3-D programs in Korea. The broadcast satellite, named "Olleh-1"
after the telecom company's flagship brand, was sent into orbit earlier in the day from French Guiana aboard a rocket
made by France-based Arianspace SA, KT said in a statement.
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Science & Technology News from the Republic of Korea Dec 2010
KT sets sights on cloud computing, expands partnerships (Yonhap News of 8.12.2010)
South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. said Wednesday that it has agreed to collaborate with two software companies,
including Microsoft Corp., to step up its cloud computing business, a service that lets users access data through the
Web. As part of its efforts to secure another key technology in cloud computing, KT will takeover a local software
venture company, NexR, which owns technology to store and process a large amount of data on the Web, it said in a
statement.
Qualcomm grants access to tech info (Joongang Daily of 14.12.2010)
Qualcomm Inc., a U.S.-based telecommunications company, will make some of its technology available to other
software developers, allowing them to make mobile multimedia software for its modem chip, Korea’s antitrust agency
saidy.
The Fair Trade Commission said in a release that Qualcomm intends to open an application digital signal processor
(ADSP) interface so that third parties can develop mobile multimedia software that can be used on its modem chip,
for which it has exclusive rights. The interface helps to compress and convert computer files into moving images,
making it possible to receive video and other types of content on a cell phone.
That will open the door for local software companies to develop mobile video software similar to Qualcomm’s Qtv
program, the commission said. Qualcomm developed code-division multiple access (CDMA) technology used in
many cellphone networks in Korea and across the world. It has kept a tight lid on its interface programs, effectively
preventing competitors from developing multimedia software for CDMA-based cellphone networks. But the company
reversed course amid an FTC investigation into whether Qualcomm’s efforts to keep its interface technology under
wraps limits competition in the mobile multimedia software arena.
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