Samsung to launch 'tech' foundation

Rhee In-yong, Samsung Group’s chief communications officer, talks to reporters at a press conference about the corporation’s plan to establish “Samsung Future Technology Foundation” to bolster balanced growth with local SMEs at its main Seoul office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap

By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung Group, the nation’s most-powerful conglomerate, said Monday it will invest a total of 1.5 trillion won ($1.34 billion) over the next 10 years to establish a new foundation to help Korea develop patents in next-generation technologies.

The group said the Samsung Future Technology Foundation will focus on developing materials-, hardware-, and industry convergence-related techs.

“Developers will completely own patents. Samsung will just focus on supporting technicians and researchers to yield visible profits,” said Rhee In-yong, chief communications officer at Samsung, in a briefing to reporters at its main office in Seocho, southern Seoul, Monday.

Samsung plans to spend 300 billion won as seed money to set up the foundation. From 2013 to 2017, the conglomerate will invest 750 billion won to be followed by an additional 750 billion won investment by 2022.

Rhee stressed that the foundation’s investment will depend on the nature of business projects. There will be no barriers on business proposals,” he said.

The announcement comes after Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kyun-hee told President Park Geun-hye during her visit to the United States last week that Samsung generally agreed with the government’s ongoing initiatives to achieve a “creative economy.”

The company said Lee stressed the new policy initiative is designed to boost the Korean economy and promised the president to try his best to bring returns to match up with the initiatives.

Park is driving the initiatives to create new business opportunities and jobs by combining information and communications technologies (ICT) with other sectors of the economy.

Samsung is the first among local industrial titans to announce details of plans in accordance with this policy goal.

“The foundation will pick up more local small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs), which have patents but some financial problems. Qualified local researchers will get a chance to collaborate with the world’s renowned scholars for future projects,” said the Samsung president.

Rhee told reporters more investment will be allocated to strengthen the competitiveness of Korea’s future materials as a strategy to cut the country’s heavy reliance on other countries for such resources.

“Securing the competitiveness of future materials is strongly recommended in order to maintain Korea’s current leverage in hardware-related technologies. Korea is relying more on future materials to be used in future technologies,” Rhee said.

Samsung pays billion of dollars in return for using patents in semiconductors, displays and other software, although the company is the world’s biggest manufacturer of smartphones, televisions and supplier of chips and flat-screens.