Kim Dongyeon Attends 'Korea Innovators Community Summit': "I Will Make Pangyo a Startup Paradise"

Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, has expressed his commitment to continue supporting the transformation of Pangyo in Seongnam into a startup paradise in South Korea.

On November 7, at the Global Biz Center in the Second Pangyo Techno Valley, Governor Kim attended the "Korea Innovators Community Summit" and stated, "It is especially meaningful because this is the first time the World Economic Forum is running a startup program in partnership with an individual country."

The "Korea Innovators Community Summit" is an event for startups jointly hosted by Gyeonggi Province and the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The World Economic Forum is an international, non-profit, private organization where leaders from governments, businesses, academia, and civil society around the world gather to discuss and seek solutions to major global economic and social issues. It is best known for its Annual Meeting (Davos Forum) held every January in Davos, Switzerland.

In his welcoming remarks, Governor Kim said, "Together with the World Economic Forum, we have launched the Korea Frontiers program," and pledged, "Starting with Korea Frontiers, we will provide full support to foster the birth of unicorn companies."

Korea Frontiers is the first global startup acceleration project in South Korea, jointly developed by the Gyeonggi Fourth Industrial Revolution Center and the World Economic Forum.

Governor Kim went on to say, "For a long time, I have dreamed of making not only Gyeonggi Province but all of South Korea a paradise for startups, and to achieve this, I have steadily pursued two main initiatives. The first is to expand the stage for startups to the global market and make bold investments. The second is to transform the startup support system and ecosystem."

He added, "The 100 trillion won investment attraction goal for Gyeonggi Province, which I promised about two years and eight months ago, was achieved ahead of schedule during my business trip to Boston last week. Since most of these investments are related to building the ecosystem, I am hopeful that even more opportunities will be created for startups."

Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, is speaking at the "Korea Innovation Smart Summit" held on the 7th in Pangyo, Seongnam. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

Governor Kim introduced, "Through the Pangyo+20 Project, we are building clusters by expanding 200,000 pyeong (approximately 661,000 square meters) of startup space across 20 locations in the province. We have launched the Gyeonggi Startup Council with the participation of over 520 companies, and last month, we opened the Gyeonggi Startup Bridge to support every stage of startup creation and growth."

This event served as the first official platform where leading Korean innovative startups selected by Gyeonggi Province and the World Economic Forum, domestic unicorn companies, and global venture investors gathered to discuss collaboration strategies. It marked a significant starting point for Korean startups seeking to enter the global market.

More than 200 participants attended the event, including Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, as well as CEOs of prominent domestic AI and tech startups such as Yanolja, Lunit, DeepX, and Upstage, along with key representatives from major investment institutions.

Notably, the event marked the official launch of "Korea Frontiers," the first global startup acceleration project in South Korea jointly developed by the Gyeonggi Fourth Industrial Revolution Center and the World Economic Forum, which is renowned for organizing the Davos Forum.

Meanwhile, in January of last year, Governor Kim attended the Davos Forum and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the World Economic Forum to establish the Fourth Industrial Revolution Center in Gyeonggi Province.