This year, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) will translate the initiatives into concrete policies.
First, the government will encourage technology development and commercialization for future automobiles,including hybrid and fuel cell vehicles. Although the global auto industry is undergoing a fundamental paradigm shift to produce more eco-friendly cars, Korea's technology level stands at 60-70% of that of industrialized countries.
To this end, the government will promote a comprehensive support plan that offers assistance with basic technology development, taxes and commercialization.
Second, domestic automakers will be encouraged to develop more high quality models that can generate more added value. Korean brands are gaining better recognition overseas, which highlights the importance of creating a flagship model that can represent Korean automobiles.
At the same time, more R&D activities will be focused on improving durability. Durability and reliability levels of Korean cars remain relatively low, compared to their high scores in initial quality studies. In this light, the Korean government will provide support in research and development to boost durability.
Third, under the goal of turning Korea into a global supply base for auto parts, the Korean government will strengthen global sourcing by supporting the growth of the auto parts industry. Since it is evident that the auto industry's profit will increasingly depend on parts and components, the government will launch new technology development projects and expand modularization technology development by establishing a modularization complex. In addition to this, the government will enhance technology by strengthening cooperation between assemblers and parts suppliers. In particular, government support will focus on technology and human resources exchange between assemblers and suppliers, and joint technology development activities.
In addition, as projects to foster the local parts industry, including regional innovation systems and technology innovation centers, have entered a stable stage, the government seeks to focus on improving the quality of the projects and on producing more effective outcomes rather than expanding the size of the projects.
Moreover, the government will draw up comprehensive measures on both the private and public level to resolve pending trade issues, and will work to ensure the future growth of Korea's auto industry in bilateral and multilateral trade talks.
If such government efforts are combined with corporate efforts to enhance competitiveness, Korea's auto industry will without a doubt achieve great gains in the global market.
