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Busan Metropolitan City Selects Four New “Busan-Type Anchor Companies” to Drive Manufacturing Growth and Accelerate Creation of an Innovation Ecosystem

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Busan Metropolitan City announced that it has finalized the selection of four new companies for the 2026 Busan-Type Anchor Company Development Support Project and will provide comprehensive support to enable their quantum leap growth as anchor companies.

The city has been implementing the Busan-Type Anchor Company Development Support Project since 2024 to improve the structural competitiveness of the manufacturing sector—the backbone of the regional economy—and to strengthen global competitiveness.

The newly selected companies are JMJ Co., Ltd. in the Pre-Anchor stage, BMT Co., Ltd. and Halla IMS Co., Ltd. in the Anchor stage, and Dae Yang Electric Co., Ltd. in the Top-tier Anchor stage, making a total of four companies.

These companies received high evaluations not only for their revenue scale but also for their collaboration networks with upstream and downstream SMEs, contribution to job creation in the region, technological impact, and potential for expansion into global markets.

The city plans to position these companies as anchors of innovation in the regional manufacturing industry and promote co-growth across the entire industrial ecosystem.

Selected companies will be granted certification for three years and will receive project funding ranging from KRW 300 million to KRW 500 million to support company-led customized innovation.

Support areas include in-depth corporate analysis and consulting, research and development (R&D), technology development, patents, testing and certification, and overseas market expansion, covering the entire cycle from R&D to commercialization.

As a result of supporting anchor companies in 2024 and 2025, sales increased by 15.6 percent compared to 2024, and the number of full-time employees rose by 13.7 percent. A total of 14 R&D projects worth KRW 3.865 billion were also secured. In addition, both quantitative and qualitative achievements were made, including induction into the Hall of Fame at the National Quality Management Convention.

The city plans to invest a total of KRW 11.7 billion by 2029 to promote the “Manucorn Project,” and starting this year, it will set “AI Transformation (AX) convergence leadership” as a core direction. Through this, it aims to expand an AI-based manufacturing ecosystem in which anchor companies and their partners participate together.

Meanwhile, to enhance objectivity and fairness in the selection process for Busan-Type Anchor Companies (Manucorn), the city introduced a five-stage comprehensive verification system.

Using AI-based evaluation systems from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT) and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KIBO), the city conducted precise, data-driven assessments of technological capabilities. It also carried out audition-style presentation evaluations involving experts and citizen panels to comprehensively verify companies’ visions and growth strategies.

In addition, on-site inspections of manufacturing facilities were conducted to assess management commitment to digital transformation (DX) and AI transformation (AX), investment plans, and overall regional impact, thereby ensuring a transparent and reliable selection process.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “The four companies selected this time will serve as symbols of Busan’s manufacturing innovation and as key drivers of the regional economy’s future. We will do our utmost to ensure that an innovation ecosystem centered on anchor companies spreads throughout local SMEs and that Busan emerges as a leading base for AI transformation in manufacturing in Korea.”