Hidden Champion, selected all 100 companies /
Government selected all 100 Hidden Champion companies /

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Park Young-sun) announced that it had selected 46 companies in the “Hidden Champion 100,” which will achieve self-reliance in materials, parts and equipment technology and create new industries in the future, on October 28, and selected a total of 100 companies.

Secondary selected small and medium-sized enterprises by material/part/equipment category were 19 parts (41%), 14 materials (30%), 13 equipment (28%), and 12 machines/metals, 10 semiconductors, Electrical/electronics 9, automobile 6, basic chemistry 5, and display 4 were selected by technology category.

[Summary of support contents] Priority support (2020) through Hidden Champion exclusive and preferential projects (30 projects, up to KRW 18.2 billion), and expansion of Hidden Champion exclusive projects (after 2021). R&D dedicated to Hidden Champion will be organized by the government in 2021 at KRW 12.5 billion (up to 4 years, KRW 2 billion).

Professor Hermann Simon and his book, Hidden Champions of the 21st century

Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups decided to support Korean technology companies in the fields of materials, parts and equipment by using the term Hidden Champion, widely popularized by Professor Hermann Simon, a renowned German business scholar.