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Established in 1979, the Korea Industrial Technology Association (KOITA) was mandated to lay the foundation for the nation's industrial technology development, and to strengthen the innovative capabilities of Korean companies. On the basis of this mandate, KOITA has been granted the responsibility for accrediting the establishment of corporate R&D centers in Korea. It has since become the nation's premier institution for the support of industrial research and development, and now represents and provides assistance to corporate R&D centers throughout the country.
The registered number of corporate R&D centers surpassed the 17,000-mark in July 2009. These centers account for 77 percent of total national R&D expenditures and 68 percent of national research personnel. In a nutshell, they have been the mainspring of Korea's economic development.
For this reason, KOITA supports the establishment and operation of corporate R&D centers under its drive to involve itself in every aspect of fostering technological development across a broad spectrum of industry.
KOITA acts as an intermediary between the government and industry, and in this vein, strives to reflect industry’s concerns in the formulation of technological development support policies. At the same time, the Association undertakes numerous government-commissioned R&D support projects to stimulate industrial research at a national level. KOITA operates networking groups such as the “CTO Club” and “R&D Directors’ Council” to provide fora in which leaders of industry may share opinions and information on trends in industrial technology and R&D.
Our Association recognizes the vital importance of global technological cooperation in search for intimate cooperative relationships with the globally prominent organizations, institutions, and universities in the field of technological innovation. To this end, KOITA organized the Foreign R&D Executives' Council (FORDEC) in 2003 to elicit the opinions of overseas companies in Korea and relay them to the Korean government in order to resolve bottlenecks they face in the pursuit of their R&D activities.
It is our belief that only extensive cross-border cooperation will lead the world to the next stage of enhanced technological development. In response to this belief, our Association and the 17,000 corporate R&D centers in Korea that we are proud to represent are ready to expand and strengthen its scope of global technological cooperation. We hereby assure you that KOITA will spare no effort in strengthening relationships with our global partners and continue to seek new opportunities of this kind for the sake of our mutual prosperity and the betterment of global industrial R&D.
Korea Industrial Technology Association
