2010 IASP Daejeon

Daejeon is the home to the patent office and patent court for all of Korea. On top of that, we find other government offices in Daejeon: the Korea Customs Service, the Public Procurement Service, the Military Manpower Administration, the Cultural Heritage Administration, the Korea Forest Service, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and the Small and Medium Business Administration are located in Daejeon. A new administrative capital is planned for nearby Sejong City that will make the region a center for business and technology for all of Asia.
The cross-fertilization between research fields in Daedeok encourages innovation and collaboration. Over the last 15 years, venture companies have sprung up like mushrooms after a spring rain, numbering over 800 at last count. Some of those companies have gone on to become major players and others are coming of age today. Intekplus's semiconductor package inspection systems, Hanool Robotics's remarkable cleaning robots, Menix Corporation's mobile security systems, RayCan's next generation lasers and ABC NanoTech's ceramic nano powder are just some of the products produced by the startlingly diverse panoply of venture companies that thrive in the ecosystem surrounding KAIST, Chungnam University, and the government and corporate research institutes.

The city supports one of the fastest developing business communities with a strong emphasis on technological innovation. The recently opened Daedeok Techno Valley on the north side of town brings together research with light manufacturing to create a unique environment for R&D. The universities and research institutes have set up venture firms here to explore new applications of their technologies. More recently, Daejeon's ACTS (Agency of Advanced Cultural Technologies and Services) has become a Mecca for multimedia entertainment and film. Daejeon is located in the mid-southern part of the Korean peninsula and in the part of South Korea. As a gateway to Jeolla, Gyeongsang and Chungcheong provinces, Daejeon is 167.3 km away from Seoul, 294 km from Busan and 169km from Gwangju.
Daejeon developed in the eary 20th century along with the railroads. In 1993, Daejeon received a great boost to its momentum in becoming a world-class metropolitan area with its successful hosting of the 1993 International Daejeon Exposition. The '93 Expo attracted more than 14 million visitors from home and abroad. More than 100 countries participated in the '93 Expo, making it a noteworthy world event. With the urban expansion, Daejeon was upgraded to a city under the direct control of the central government in 1989. It was renamed Daejeon Metropolitan City in 1995 with the beginning of the nationwide local autonomy system. On December 29, 2004, the National Assembly passed the Daedeok R&D Special Zone Law giving a new development engine to the Daedeok Valley. For the past 30 years, Daedeok Valley has focused the development of the Daedeok Research Complex on national scientific technology, and the transformation to Daedeok Innopolis focuses on the commercialization of their R&D results.

Currently a massive project known as the “Daedeok Techno Valley Development Project” is being implemented in collaboration with the metropolitan government, Hanwha Co., and the Industrial Bank of Korea. This project will build a new industrial park equipped with residence and leisure facilities including a sports field, and in particular an industrial zone exclusively for foreign investors in the Techno Valley.

• Tourism

With the geographical advantage of being located in the middle of Korea, Daejeon has a great tourism infrastructure, including the Eight Famous Places in Daejeon and Expo Park, making it a cutting-edge science and tourism city. Moreover, Dajeon Zoo recently changed its name to ‘Daejeon O-World’ becoming Daejeon’s new landmark as a theme park complex. Daejeon also has many tourist destinations as a neighboring city, such as Gongju and Nonsan.