SUBIC BAY

SBMA signs MOU with Korea's 'Silicon Valley'
Aug 15, 2012

Subic Bay Freeport - The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Daejeon TechnoPark, one of South Korea's leading technological institutions, in the metropolitan city of Daejeon.

Known as the 'Silicon Valley' of South Korea, Daejeon Technopark is the second biggest center of Administration and Science and Technology, and plays a key role in Korea's domestic economic development.

SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto V. Garcia and Dr. Park Jun Byung, Daejeon Technopark president and CEO, and Daejeon City vice mayor for administrative affairs and director general of science, culture and tourism, signed the MOU in Daejeon City last July.

Also present during the signing ceremony were SBMA director Benjamin Antonio, and several other city and Technopark officials as witnesses.

"The agreement basically aims to build up strategic and collaborative partnerships between SBMA and Daejeon Metropolitan City (DMC), which is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and science and technology capital," Garcia noted.

Common collaborative efforts between SBMA and DMC are expected to bring mutual growth and benefit to their respective stakeholders, particularly in the areas of industrial technology, business development and exchange, global network construction, knowledge resource sharing, and support marketing.

According to Garcia, the MOU will allow both SBMA and DMC to promote joint business matching, research projects and cooperative networking among business and research institutes.

The two parties have also agreed to carry out various exchange programs such as technology development, staff training and workforce exchanges in order to foster mutual understanding.

"This is a very significant development for the Freeport, especially considering that Daejeon is home to various private and public research institutes, centers and science parks, the more notable of which include the Electronic Telecommunications Research Institute, the Korean Aerospace Research Institute, the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, the Korea Institute of Energy Research, the National Nanofab Center, and research and development centers of Samsung and LG; among others," Garcia added.

After the signing, Garcia and Antonio met with Daejeon mayor Yeom Hong-chul and proceeded to Chungnam University, one of the largest government universities among the 18 universities in Daejeon.

At Chungnam, the SBMA officials met with the university vice president, Prof. Oh, who described how a Technopark, in the true sense of the word, should be set up, and that is, in collaboration with an educational institution and a testing/research center.

Prof. Oh is also the secretary general of the World Technopark Association (WTA) and has been involved in setting up techno parks in many parts of the world, including Kenya, Mongolia, Indonesia, Egypt and Sri Lanka.

"With a MOU with Daejeon in place, we hope to develop and replicate that kind of techno park here in the Freeport," Garcia said. (30)

News 2012