Ministry of SMEs and Startups Partners with POSCO to Open 'Public-Private Collaborative Tipstown'

Minister Park Young-sun Attends 'Changeup Ground' Opening Ceremony

On the 1st, Minister Park Young-sun is participating in the ceremony at the opening of 'Changeup Ground'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced that Minister Park Young-sun attended the opening ceremony of 'Changeup Ground' on the 1st. Changeup Ground is the first public-private cooperative TIPS Town operated jointly by the Ministry and POSCO (Chairman Choi Jeong-woo), serving as a space to nurture startup teams participating in the Ministry's TIPS program.

This public-private cooperative TIPS Town opening is a follow-up measure to the corporate social responsibility agreement signed between the Ministry and POSCO in May last year, increasing the total number of TIPS Towns to six. The distinguishing feature of the sixth TIPS Town opening this time, compared to existing TIPS Towns, is that it is jointly operated by the Ministry, POSCO, and the public-private sector. POSCO leased and remodeled a building near Yeoksam-ro, where existing TIPS Towns are located, and both startup teams from the Ministry's TIPS program and POSCO in-house ventures moved in together.

Going forward, the Ministry and POSCO plan to jointly operate support programs for resident startups, including education and networking. The building structure is designed to facilitate active interaction among innovation entities such as startups and investors, with the basement level 1 and ground floor 1 consisting of seminar rooms and open networking spaces. Floors 2 through 6 accommodate about 20 startup teams and operating companies supporting these teams.

About 30 people attended the opening ceremony, including Minister Park, POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo, Representative Lee Hak-young (Chairman of the Industry, Trade, and SMEs Committee), Ko Young-ha (Chairman of the Korea Angel Investment Association), and representatives of resident startups. The ceremony proceeded with an explanation of POSCO's Changeup Ground operation direction, presentations of expectations and impressions by startup representatives, congratulatory ceremonies by key guests, and a tour of the resident spaces. The opening ceremony emphasized the significance of the first public-private cooperative TIPS Town by having Minister Park, Chairman Choi, and startup representatives collaboratively stack letter blocks spelling 'Change up Ground.'

Minister Park said, "Changeup Ground is the first case where the private sector builds startup incubation infrastructure and the government participates in its operation, marking the beginning of a self-sustaining startup growth ecosystem led by the private sector." She added, "The Ministry will actively support the successful operation of Changeup Ground and will also activate projects such as the Innovative Venture K-Non-face-to-face Project and the Smart Korea Fund to help startups discovered through this initiative grow into unicorns."

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