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“Busan Future Industry Transformation Fund” Makes Its First Local Investment in DR Axion Co., Ltd., Accelerating Corporate Growth Investment

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that the birth of DR Axion Co., Ltd. as the first local company to receive investment from the Busan Future Industry Transformation Fund marks the beginning of tangible results in creating a virtuous investment ecosystem where local companies can secure investment and grow within the region.

As the fund’s first investment recipient, DR Axion Co., Ltd. is one of Busan’s representative mid-sized automotive parts manufacturers with deep local roots, tracing its origins to Daelim Enterprise, founded in 1979.

The company’s core products include cylinder heads and cylinder blocks, which are essential engine components. It possesses world-class proprietary technologies in precision aluminum casting and machining and supplies major global automobile manufacturers, including Hyundai Motor and Kia.

The company has also received numerous recognitions for its technological excellence and corporate competitiveness, including the Korean government’s World Class 300 designation (2016) and Prestigious Root Enterprise certification (2016), as well as Busan Employment Award (2015), Strategic Industry Leading Company designation (2017), and Busan Metropolitan City Prestigious Local Enterprise designation (2026).

With this investment, the company is expected to accelerate its transformation into an eco-friendly future mobility parts manufacturer by advancing its existing engine component technologies and leading the market for lightweight components for environmentally friendly vehicles in response to the rapid transition toward future mobility and electric vehicles.

This investment represents more than support for a single company. It is significant because it presents a successful model demonstrating that Busan-based companies can secure investment and achieve growth within the region. It is also expected to improve local companies’ access to investment while reducing the outflow of businesses to the Seoul metropolitan area.

Beginning with this investment, Busan Metropolitan City will fully implement investments through the Busan Future Industry Transformation Fund to provide a stable source of policy financing that supports the industrial transformation and advancement of small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies across the southeastern region, with Busan at its center.

The city will devote every effort to systematically promoting the fund and increasing public awareness so that promising local companies in need of financing can actively utilize it.

To ensure that companies with limited investment experience can also take advantage of the fund, the city will strengthen both online and offline outreach while actively utilizing networks with related organizations to expand on-site information sessions and customized investment consultation opportunities for regional small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies.

Through the Busan Future Industry Transformation Fund, the city will continue identifying and investing in local companies with outstanding technology and strong growth potential, thereby enhancing corporate competitiveness while continuously improving the industrial foundation and advancing the regional industrial structure.

Until now, many local companies with excellent technologies and strong growth potential have faced difficulties attracting large-scale investment, often relying on the capital region’s investment market or considering relocating their businesses.

To address this structural issue, the city has established an investment framework that combines the investment expertise of private professional fund managers with the city’s industrial policies to provide stage-based financing for local companies as they grow.

As the number of investee companies continues to increase, more regional success stories are expected to accumulate, encouraging greater participation by private investors and stimulating follow-on investments in local companies, thereby creating an even stronger investment ecosystem in Busan.

Lee Tae-hoon, Chief Executive Officer of DR Axion Co., Ltd., said, “It is especially meaningful for us to become the first company selected for investment by the Busan Future Industry Transformation Fund at this pivotal moment as we accelerate our transition into the future mobility and electric vehicle industry. As a company firmly rooted in Busan, we will do our utmost to achieve continued sales growth, create quality jobs, and become a leading mid-sized future mobility company that contributes to the development of the regional economy.”

Mayor Chun Jae-soo stated, “This investment is the first tangible achievement and an important milestone demonstrating the Busan Future Industry Transformation Fund’s support for local companies. We will continue making bold investments in high-potential companies to support corporate innovation and industrial transformation while building a virtuous investment ecosystem in which regional capital flows back into regional businesses, making Busan Metropolitan City an even better place to do business.”