South Korea Aims to Enhance Tech Collaboration with Israel and Japan

Seoul, January 13 (NationPress) The ministry responsible for industry in South Korea convened on Monday to explore strategies for enhancing the country's bilateral partnerships with Israel and Japan to foster development in high-tech domains, including artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

Je Kyung-hee, the Director General for Technology Policy, held a virtual discussion with Alon Stopel, the chief scientist at Israel's innovation ministry, to assess the advancements in collaborative research initiatives, as stated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Since its inception in 2001, the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation has provided a cumulative total of $8 million annually starting from 2022 to facilitate joint projects, according to reports by the Yonhap news agency.

At present, the foundation is sponsoring 16 research and development projects and aims to incorporate seven additional initiatives within this year.

The ministry has expressed optimism that South Korea's leadership in manufacturing, combined with Israel's strengths in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and semiconductor innovation, will yield mutual advantages.

Additionally, Je conducted a face-to-face meeting with Jingo Kikukawa, the director general for innovation and environment at Japan's industry ministry, in Seoul to deliberate on enhancing technological cooperation with the forthcoming U.S. administration.

Both officials underscored the significance of bilateral teamwork in adapting to the swiftly transforming landscape of industrial technology and committed to collaborating in identifying new cooperative avenues, as reported by the ministry.

Last year, the Korea-Israel Innovation Day, co-hosted with the Israel Innovation Authority, focused on exploring potential collaboration areas with Israeli enterprises, particularly in the semiconductor and smart mobility sectors.

The two nations are set to back competitive projects emerging from this event through bilateral research funds.

The number of applications submitted for joint tech projects between South Korean and Israeli companies surged from merely seven in 2020 to 34 last year, highlighting the strengthening of cooperation.