German software giant SAP opens office near Seoul

SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- The world-renowned design center of German software giant SAP opened an office, called AppHaus, in South Korea on Wednesday, in a demonstration of its commitment to a partnership with the nation's government in promoting innovation and digital startups.

The AppHaus located on the Pangyo Startup Campus, situated just south of Seoul, is the third of its kind created by the SAP Design & Co-Innovation Center (DCC). It has similar space in Heidelberg and Silicon Valley.

The Park Geun-hye administration has been actively campaigning to foster startups with international competitiveness.

In 2014, Park met with Hasso Plattner, visiting co-founder and chairman of the supervisory board of SAP, and requested the firm's support for her "creative economy" drive.

The AppHaus in Pangyo, South Korea's answer to Silicon Valley, is designed to help South Korea push for various innovation programs based on "design thinking and software," said the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

"This SAP AppHaus is expected to contribute to South Korea's efforts for software innovation, enhanced design competitiveness and the creation of a global startup ecosystem," the ministry's No. 2 official Choi Jae-you said during the opening ceremony.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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