Gwanak-gu Nakseongdae-dong and Daehak-dong Startup Valley Development Becomes Visible

Accelerating the Development of Nakseong Venture Valley and University Campus Town Project with Seoul National University... Expanding Startup Infrastructure to Provide Startup Spaces for Over 100 Startups by 2021... Establishing the Nation's First Startup Support Fund by a Basic Local Government and Implementing Various Startup Support Policies

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee), which is soon reaching the midpoint of its 7th elected term, is making tangible progress in the creation of the startup valley in the Nakseongdae-dong and Daehak-dong areas, a core campaign pledge.

The district is promoting the ‘Nakseong Venture Valley’ project to attract venture companies and build a venture ecosystem around the Nakseongdae area near the back gate of Seoul National University, as well as the ‘University Campus Town’ project in collaboration with Seoul National University to establish startup support facilities and support entrepreneurial activities in Daehak-dong and Nakseongdae-dong.

This is Mayor Park Jun-hee’s key pledge to revitalize the local economy centered on Seoul National University, which possesses excellent human, material, and intellectual resources, similar to Silicon Valley in the U.S. with Stanford University or Zhongguancun in China with Tsinghua University.

First, starting with the opening of ‘Gwanak Startup Space’ in Nakseongdae-dong last May, which houses 11 startups, the district will continue to expand startup infrastructure.

In March of this year, the newly constructed ‘Nakseong Venture Startup Center’ and ‘Nakseong Venture Startup Center R&D Branch,’ which serve as forward bases for Nakseong Venture Valley, began operations with 15 promising startups active, and the ‘Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch’ was newly established at Nakseongdae (Gang Gam-chan) Station.

In the second half of this year, two more startup spaces will be added in Nakseongdae-dong. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will invest 5 billion KRW to purchase the entire building of the Gwanak Startup Space, which was previously operated by the district, and after renovation, it will be expanded and operated as the ‘(tentative name) Gwanak Startup Center’ starting around October.

Also, on the site of the Nakseongdae-dong Community Service Center parking lot, a pilotis-style building with the first floor as a parking lot and the second floor as a startup space is scheduled to be newly constructed around October.

Startup infrastructure will also be expanded through the University Campus Town project promoted jointly with Seoul National University. The project will receive 10 billion KRW in city funds over four years starting this year, and separately, Gwanak-gu will invest 5.5 billion KRW and Seoul National University will add 10.5 billion KRW in resources this year.

The district and Seoul National University plan to establish base centers in Daehak-dong and Nakseongdae-dong that can house a total of 70 startup companies, including makerspace areas equipped with 3D printers and startup spaces conducting programs on autonomous driving and robot AI.

A district official projected that by next year, a total of seven startup spaces will be established in the Nakseongdae-dong and Daehak-dong areas, providing startup spaces for over 100 startups.

Meanwhile, efforts are also being actively made to revitalize domestic and international investment attraction to assist new companies in managing funds. The district supports investment attraction through agreements with Seoul National University’s technology holding company and two private investment firms, and in November last year, it partnered with Tsinghua University’s technology holding company in China to promote startup investment and foster Nakseong Venture Valley, laying the foundation for Korea-China joint cooperation.

In particular, Gwanak-gu is the first among basic local governments nationwide to establish a 20 billion KRW scale Nakseong Venture Valley startup support fund. After processes such as selecting a management company, recruiting general investors, and registering the fund, full-scale investment is expected to begin by the end of this year.

Additionally, various startup support programs are being operated, including ‘Startup Scale Up’ which supports initial business expenses, the ‘Local Settlement Project’ which links venture companies’ ideas with district projects, demo day events, startup forums, and the Nakseong Venture Valley Festival.

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “The creation of the startup valley in Nakseongdae-dong and Daehak-dong is the greatest achievement of the first half of the 7th elected term. Going forward, we will actively cooperate with Seoul National University, a major asset of Gwanak-gu, to accelerate the development of the startup valley and invigorate the local economy.”

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