A Three-Year Technology Map Drawn Jointly by MSS and KIPO
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office have jointly launched work on the 2026 Smart Manufacturing Strategic Technology Roadmap. Covering 2027 through 2029, the roadmap will set the direction for smart manufacturing R&D and serve as the practical implementation vehicle for the government's AI-driven Smart Manufacturing 3.0 strategy.
The biggest change is that this is the first collaboration combining on-site demand surveys with patent big data analysis. Previous roadmaps relied largely on industry input and expert advisory panels; this time, patent analytics infrastructure enters at the earliest planning stage. The finished roadmap is scheduled for release in the first half of 2027.
This is not a reference document. It feeds directly into the eligible technology items and evaluation criteria of subsequent smart manufacturing R&D calls. A technology that does not make the roadmap is, in practice, excluded from funding.
From 49 Strategic Items to More Than 100
The number of future-promising strategic technology items is expanding from 49 last year to more than 100 — a more than twofold increase. Two things follow from that.
Combined with the recently established Special Classification for the Smart Manufacturing Technology Industry and the Manufacturing AI 2030 strategy, a policy package is taking shape in which classification, roadmap, and R&D budget line up as one system.
What Patent Big Data Actually Changes in R&D Planning
Once patent analysis enters the planning stage, the way companies prepare proposals has to change.
1. Making the white space argument
White space analysis demonstrates quantitatively that registered patents remain sparse in a given technology area. Novelty and differentiation are the sections reviewers challenge most often, and a patent map replaces subjective claims with data.
2. Screening out duplicate projects in advance
Proposals that skip a prior art search are frequently rejected at first-stage review as "already commercialized." Running three to five core keywords through KIPRIS against the last five years of registered patents takes about a day — one step that removes months of preparation risk.
3. Earning credit for IP-R&D linkage
There is a clear trend toward favoring projects that design patent strategy alongside the technical plan from the outset. The point is not to file after development ends, but to submit a development plan that already contains the filing and design-around strategy.
Three Things to Do Before the Roadmap Is Published
Likely Strategic Items by Sector
How KITIM Can Help
The Korea Institute of Technology Innovation Management (KITIM) supports IP-R&D linked project planning and prior art research, smart manufacturing R&D proposal writing and consortium formation, and the development of an annual R&D roadmap timed to the government's publication schedule. If you plan to target the 2027 call season, we invite you to request a consultation.