● MOU signed with University of Ulsan, UNIST, Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, Ulsan Technopark, and Sunbo Angel Partners

● SKC plans to support early business launch by sharing its R&D capabilities, management infrastructure, network, and know-how accumulated for several years  

SKC (Lee Wan-jae, CEO) will offer management know-how and R&D facilities so that related venture startups and small businesses in the Ulsan region may speedily launch their products or services. In so doing, SKC attempts to develop a win-win business model through which both related businesses and SKC may grow together. 

On the 29th, SKC signed an “Agreement on the Deployment of Technology Platform for the Development of New Materials in the Ulsan Region” containing such details at the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation. The MOU signing ceremony held on that day was attended by representatives from University of Ulsan, UNIST, Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, Ulsan Technopark, Sunbo Angel Partners, and SKC. 

Under the MOU, the six entities agreed to unite forces to ▲develop an ecosystem for supporting business startup and venture and small businesses in the region, ▲provide an environment for promoting R&D and commercialization related to new materials, ▲deploy systems for exploring new demand jointly, and share information. 

<Participants in the MOU signing ceremony. From left,Kim Gwang-hun, Head of the Policy Planning Group of Ulsan Technopark /Kim Han-sil, Director of the University of Ulsan Startup Support Group​ /Lee Wan-jae, CEO of SKC /Kwon Yeong-hae, Director of the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation /Lee Jae-sung, UNIST Vice President for Academic Affairs /Choe Yeong-chan and Oh Jong-hun, CEOs of Sunbo Angel Partners>

SKC plans to share R&D capabilities, facilities, network, and practical business know-how it has accumulated for several years 

University of Ulsan and UNIST agreed to explore technological personnel and required technologies, with the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation agreeing to support the incubation and commercialization of new business ventures. Ulsan Technopark will help in commercialization _ base_d on R&D, and Sunbo Angel Partners will support the exploration and fostering of startup teams with initial investment. On the other hand, SKC will provide support for early commercialization by sharing R&D capabilities and facilities, network, and actual business know-how using its merits as a materials specialist company. 

In the R&D phase, SKC will provide consulting services as required for the analysis and commercialization of new materials to be explored through research and development. SKC will also share research facilities and assist in the testing of trial products if requested by the businesses being supported. In such processes, SKC will also share the external network information it has accumulated so far, including those related to global R&D consulting services. 

In the commercialization phase, SKC will share the know-how it has accumulated for several years in relation to business models. They will include the know-how required for business management, including that for financial, legal, HR, and IT services. SKC will also disclose its patents as required. In addition, SKC will employ means of connecting with its own business projects in order to enhance the possibility of success. In the ensuing global commercialization phase, SKC will help startups or small businesses utilize the global business network it has deployed so far. 

Both SKC and participating businesses will successfully explore win-win business models

The core of the current cooperation project is to help venture startups or small businesses till they are able to continue from R&D to commercialization phase successfully. Their success will also help SKC in exploring new business opportunities. SKC has concentrated its resources on the expansion of high value-added materials lines by disclosing a new vision of “a global specialty marketer” last year. Both SKC and participating businesses will win together when they cooperate in the commercialization phase. 

SKC will start full-scale efforts immediately upon signing the MOU. First, it will recruit candidate businesses. It will explore new candidates by sponsoring open contests or briefing sessions while receiving recommendations from the agencies that participated in the MOU. Initially, the project will start out with 10 or so businesses, but more businesses will be selected later. 

“It will be most important for businesses to commercialize new technologies speedily in the era of the 4th industrial revolution. Highly advanced R&D equipment and business know-how accumulated for several years, which SKC has agreed to share, will be very helpful to materials businesses located in the Ulsan region, which are preparing for the commercialization of new technologies,” said Kwon Yeong-hae, Director of the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation.  

According to Won Ki-don, Head of SKC’s Chemical Business Unit, greater synergy is expected when SKC infrastructure and know-how are added to the existing startup support platform deployed in the Ulsan region. “We plan to expand the current project model to Suwon and other areas where SKC business units are located, depending on the performance from now on,” he added. [End]