Entrepreneurial Fever Unstoppable Even by COVID-19

Competition Rate of 122 to 1 at the Jeong Ju-Young Startup Contest... Applicants Double Compared to Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Interest and enthusiasm for startup entrepreneurship, expected to inject vitality into our economy, are heating up. Nearly twice as many applicants poured into startup entrepreneurship competitions last year. The overall economic contraction caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) did not deter the enthusiasm for startup entrepreneurship.

According to Asan Nanum Foundation on the 15th, a total of 1,220 teams applied for this year's 'Chung Ju-yung Startup Competition' aimed at discovering prospective entrepreneurs and startups. Considering that 681 teams applied last year, this is nearly double the number. In terms of competition rate, last year, 16 teams were selected to advance to the business execution stage, recording a 43:1 ratio. This year, with plans to select 10 teams, the competition rate soared to 122:1.

The Chung Ju-yung Startup Competition, which started in 2012 and is now in its 9th edition, is a representative platform for discovering startups. Many promising startups such as MyRealTrip, Deep Medi, and Classting have emerged through this competition. Especially, teams advancing to the business execution stage can conduct actual business at 'Maru180,' a startup support center operated by the Asan Nanum Foundation, attracting significant interest from prospective startup entrepreneurs.

The startup enthusiasm this year is also evident elsewhere. In the '2020 Preliminary Startup Package' hosted by the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, about 900 people applied for 60 openings. The center explained that this project supports prospective entrepreneurs with innovative technology startup ideas by providing up to 100 million KRW in commercialization funds, startup education, mentoring, and other packages to facilitate smooth early-stage commercialization, with applicants doubling compared to the previous year.

The heightened enthusiasm for startups despite the COVID-19 situation is due to startups’ bold challenges producing visible results and growing as key players in our economy. Venture investment last year reached about 4.3 trillion KRW, a 25% increase from the previous year, surpassing the 4 trillion KRW mark for the first time. Since 2017, eight new unicorn companies with a corporate value exceeding 1 trillion KRW have emerged, bringing the total to 11, ranking sixth worldwide. The group of prospective unicorn companies valued at over 100 billion KRW also doubled from 115 in 2017 to 235 last year. Newly established corporations last year reached a record high of 109,000.

Moreover, during the crisis recovery process caused by COVID-19, startups have demonstrated their capabilities and potential to lead new economic models in the post-COVID era through non-face-to-face (untact) technologies. A venture industry official said, "As startups emerge as new growth engines pioneering and securing new economic models in the 'post-COVID' era, interest and enthusiasm for entrepreneurship are heating up."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.