Journal of the Korean Geographical Society ISSN:1225-6633(Print) 대한지리학회지

The purpose of this study is to analyze the status of the innovation ecosystem of Gumi cluster through the perspective of the innovation ecosystem and present alternative local industrial policies for strengthening competitiveness of Gumi cluster. For the analysis of the cluster’s innovation ecosystem, the components of the innovation ecosystem are divided into three aspects: economic assets, physical assets, and networking assets. We attempt to evaluate economic assets by considering the innovation capabilities of firms, universities, local governments, and financial institutions, physical assets by considering innovation environments such as the supply and demand of human resources, social and physical infrastructures, financial and business support system, transport infrastructure, and networking assets by considering the levels of cooperation between innovation actors, and the levels of network activity. The analysis shows that the level of innovation in the Gumi cluster and the connectivity between components and sectors are generally low. For economic assets, the business support capacity and local financial institutions are relatively low, and for physical assets, the level of R&D manpower, the level of settlement environment, and transport accessibility are relatively low. In addition, the mis-match between supply and demand of skilled manpower is revealed to be one of the most serious problems. Finally, for networking assets, it is found that the quantitative level of networking increased but the qualitative level of networking is relatively low.