Ministry of SMEs Unveils 50 Outstanding SME R&D Achievements

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) showcased the potential of Korean SMEs by announcing the '2025 Top 50 SME R&D Achievements,' which will lead the future of Korea with innovative technology and outstanding performance. This initiative, which began in 2023, serves to discover and encourage companies that have successfully completed MSS R&D support over the past five years (2020-2024) and generated remarkable achievements. This year, a total of 360 companies applied, setting a record-high competition ratio of 7.2:1, which further elevated the status of the 50 selected companies. The selected companies are categorized into: △30 companies with excellent commercialization performance, △10 companies with global-level strategic technology, △5 companies that overcame management crises and succeeded in re-challenge, and △5 companies contributing to public service improvement. They will receive the MSS Minister's Commendation, along with practical benefits such as low-interest loans from Industrial Bank of Korea and Hana Bank, dedicated investment support, support for participating in global exhibitions like CES, entry into talent recruitment halls, and preferential treatment for subsequent R&D. Looking at key selected cases, in the commercialization sector, Fantalux, which innovated display luminance uniformity and power efficiency, led the market by achieving cumulative sales of KRW 48.1 billion and exports of KRW 18 billion. In the strategic technology sector, PinoBio developed next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) linker technology that reduces side effects, attracting KRW 11 billion in investment and generating KRW 2.1 billion in technology licensing revenue, thereby leading bio innovation. In the 'Overcoming Limitations and Re-challenge' sector, Saesol Tech, which spectacularly succeeded in its comeback with an autonomous driving communication security solution after overcoming the brink of closure, increased its sales more than fivefold in two years. In the public innovation sector, Argosdyne presented the future of public services by showcasing a drone unmanned automated operating system optimized for special missions such as disaster relief and security. An awards ceremony and performance-sharing event for companies that have achieved such brilliant results will be held on November 27th at 10 AM at the President Hotel in Seoul.