Busan is good

Full-Scale Recruitment of Participating Companies for the “2026 Design Industry Support Program”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon), in cooperation with the Busan Design Promotion Agency (hereinafter referred to as the “Agency”), announced that it will recruit Busan-based companies to participate in the “2026 Design Industry Support Program” in order to secure growth drivers for the local design industry and expand the impact of corporate development initiatives.

The City plans to invest approximately KRW 2.1 billion to identify around 60 companies and provide active support to systematically foster the local design industry and strengthen the market competitiveness of design-related companies in the region.

This year’s call for applications includes three projects: ▲“SME Design Development Support Project” ▲“Recycle Design Industry Promotion Project” ▲“Next-Generation Busan Design Convergence Industry Promotion Support Project (Design Convergence Startup Track, Intelligent Information Technology Convergence Track).”

The “SME Design Development Support Project” has expanded both its scope and scale compared to last year, providing support in three categories for SMEs and design-specialized companies in Busan.

• ●The “SME Design Development Support” category supports collaborative design development between SMEs and design-specialized companies (10 projects, up to KRW 35 million per project).

• ●The “Design-Led Strategic Industry Growth Support” category focuses on fostering and supporting design-led strategic industries that reflect Busan’s regional characteristics—marine leisure, silver care, and universal design (10 projects, up to KRW 35 million per project).

• ●The “Design Company Product and Service Development Support” category assists design companies in discovering new business models (10 projects, up to KRW 15 million per project).

Starting this year, eligibility for the “Design-Led Strategic Industry Growth Support” and “Design Company Product and Service Development Support” categories has been expanded to include not only design-specialized companies but also SMEs equipped with in-house design development organizations (personnel).

The “Recycle Design Industry Promotion Project” supports companies in applying design to recycled materials to establish foundations for sustainable product development, commercialization, and branding. A total of eight projects will be supported, with up to KRW 20 million per project.

The newly launched “Next-Generation Busan Design Convergence Industry Promotion Support Project” establishes a strategic support system to help Busan-based companies grow into technology-driven innovative enterprises. It operates under a two-track structure—the “Design Convergence Startup Track” and the “Intelligent Information Technology Convergence Track”—to enhance corporate competitiveness.

• ●The “Design Convergence Startup Track” provides a three-stage growth support program tailored to design convergence startups, offering customized support from business model diagnostics to commercialization assistance (10 projects across three stages, up to KRW 30 million per project).

• ●The “Intelligent Information Technology Convergence Track” supports intelligent information technology companies and design-specialized companies through a three-stage growth support program aimed at developing new services, business models, and products, as well as creating new markets (eight projects in Stage 2, up to KRW 20 million each; four projects in Stage 3, up to KRW 40 million each).

Companies wishing to participate may refer to the respective project announcements and submit required documents, including the application form and business plan, via email to the designated contact person for each project at the Busan Design Promotion Agency.

Detailed information can be found on the City’s official website under the integrated notices section or on the Agency’s website under public announcements.

An information session will also be held to enhance understanding of the program. The session will take place on March 5 at 3:00 p.m. at the Busan Design Promotion Agency and will provide guidance on application procedures and project schedules for each project.

Moon Jeong-ju, Director General of the Future Design Headquarters of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “We will implement this program in a substantive manner to strengthen Busan’s design industry capabilities,” adding, “The City will continue to make every effort to support design companies in identifying sustainable, design-based corporate growth models and creating new added value.”