Korea's its industrial complex development policy directions have been shifting from manufacturing industry to high-tech industry. It is due to societal demand which Korea's industrial structure should be transformed to knowledge based one. Restructur...
Korea's its industrial complex development policy directions have been shifting from manufacturing industry to high-tech industry. It is due to societal demand which Korea's industrial structure should be transformed to knowledge based one. Restructuring it into an innovation-oriented and more adaptive structure is imperative for functioning as the future growth engine of the both national and regional economy.
The purpose of this research is to look into innovative activities of businesses in the complex and then suggest strategies for further development in order to guide the Seoul Digital Industrial Complex in the right direction.
As research methods, document analysis and field research were carried out. The document analysis was used for defining the concept of restructuring and analysing previous theories and studies on “Industrial Clusters.”
Since the late-1990's, however, changing economic environment has brought with it brisk structural changes to the SDIC, with the number of the resident businesses jumping 16 fold and the number of employees increasing 3.7 times over the past decade, and high-tech and knowledge-based industries including the information and communications industry have been coming in huge numbers.
The reasons why flexible production types of industries being concentratedat the SDIC that were distinct from the labor-oriented Guro Industrial Complex include that, first, its very location inside Seoul made it possible to enjoy various resource concentration benefits. Second, a combination of deregulation and policy support hascreated a industrial space(flatted-factory buildings) where low housing costsand business friendly environ- ment harmoniously go hand in hand.
There are, however, still challenges such as lack of infrastructure, world economy downturn, insufficient corporate support system(insufficient culture and leisure spaces and insufficient level of investment in R&D), lack of social network, or cooperation system and inconsistent institutions.
Based on analysis on this restructuring process and industrial cluster features, I put forth some feasible strategies for the SDIC to successfully transform into an innovation-oriented industrial cluster in this knowledge-based era.
First, there are things to be done for the purpose of creating a competitive environment, ① maintenance and expansion of infrastructure such as roads and transportation system, etc. ② securing enough space for culture and leisure uses ③ supplying low cost land and lodgings
Second, for the purpose of establishing innovation-oriented industrial cluster and regional innovation system, ① establishment of network and learning system ② nurturing network mediators ③ expansion of corporate support services ④ creating a brand for innovation-oriented cluster ⑤ nurturing professionals and construction of commercial system.
Third, as for policy support ① establishing the industrial governance ② streamlining industry stimulus policies ③ deregulations and designation of industry promotion districts ④ upgrading industrial cluster structure
By all accounts, it is obvious that the SDIC is being restructured in a way that depends heavily on the creation and use of information, in other words, in the direction of knowledge-based economy. Therefore, if we successfully eliminate obstacles to the SDIC’s development, and inefficient factors, we will soon be able to see the completion of its transformation process into the innovation-oriented industrial cluster.