Ulsan achieved the ‘Best’ grade in Performance Evaluation for Regional Specialized Industry Development Project

Achieved “S Grade” in Performance Evaluation, securing the nation's largest financial incentive of KRW 3 billion

Ulsan Metropolitan City and Ulsan Technopark announced that they received the highest “S” grade in the 2023 Regional Specialized Industry Development Project Performance Evaluation (based on the 2022 business performance) conducted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) for 14 cities and provinces nationwide.

The Regional Specialized Industry Development Project is a representative regional industry development policy promoted by 14 non-capital area cities and provinces for balanced regional development and local economic revitalization.

Every year, the MSS holds an evaluation committee composed of private experts to evaluate regional industry development projects and provides differentiated government funding according to the evaluation results (S, A, B, and C).

With the achievement of the S Grade in this evaluation, Ulsan has secured an additional KRW 3 billion in government incentives.

Every year, the city establishes its own regional industry development plan that reflects the characteristics of the region to develop local industries and support enterprises. It also provides intensive support to local SMEs with excellent innovative capabilities and growth potential through technology development and commercialization support projects.

Last year, the city invested a total of KRW 18.1 billion (KRW 13.7 billion from the government fund and KRW 4.4 billion from the city budget) to promote SMEs of key regional industries such as Green Mobility, Smart Shipbuilding, Advanced Chemical Materials, and Low Carbon Energy, while implementing local traditional business and enterprise growth support programs.

As a result, Ulsan created 209 new jobs and generated KRW 78 billion in business sales, exceeding the goal by 122.3% in new jobs and 141.5% in business sales, despite difficult conditions such as a declining population and a downturn in the manufacturing industry.

In addition, the quality of employment was improved by increasing the number of regular employees by 6.5%p, research positions by 6.3%p, and youth employment by 22.5%p compared to 2021; the commercialization rate of R&D reached 48.3%, significantly higher than the national average of 14.9% for manufacturing SMEs.

Exemplary cases of local companies include: (a) Intermac Co., Ltd., which expanded sales through technology related to the reuse of used batteries; (b) Korea BTS Co., Ltd., which obtained Green Technology and Environmental Certifications through the development of a power management module for a hybrid low-voltage DC converter; and (c) Ad-winner Co., Ltd., which succeeded in expanding exports by securing core technology for high-performance protective films.

The MMS recognized the sustainable growth of the star companies through systematic business promotion, performance management efforts, and the establishment of a growth support system in accordance with the Action Plan for Regional Specialized Business Performance Improvement established by Ulsan, Ulsan Technopark, and the Ulsan Regional Business Evaluation Team in 2022 as a best practice for other regions.

An official from Ulsan said, “Achieving the S Grade in this performance evaluation is the result of systematic and customized business support from local innovation institutions and local SMEs that have created jobs and increased sales through innovative management even under difficult industrial and economic conditions.” And added, “We will continue to do our best to promote the innovation of local SMEs, strengthen their global competitiveness and create a sustainable industrial ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, the incentives (KRW 3 billion) will be used as a budget to support technology development and commercialization of key industries in Ulsan in 2024.