Eco-Friendly Startup Hub 'Green Startup Town' Established in Cheonan

Vision Proclamation Ceremony for 'Cheonan Green Startup Town' Held on the 6th
Focused Support for Startups in Eco-friendly Future Cars and Precision Medicine Sectors

Photo by Getty Images Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The 'Green Startup Town,' a hub for eco-friendly startups and the starting point for the success of regional balanced New Deal in Chungnam, will be established in Cheonan. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Park Young-sun, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 6th that it declared the vision of Cheonan Green Startup Town and signed a tripartite business agreement with Chungcheongnam-do and Cheonan City in the lobby of Cheonan City Hall's first floor.

Green Startup Town is a representative project of the Green New Deal in the Korean New Deal comprehensive plan announced last July. Cheonan, Chungnam, was selected as the site. Referring to King's Cross Station, a representative successful case of urban regeneration in the UK, it is a concept that restores urban functions centered on innovative startups and venture companies while combining living infrastructure such as residential, cultural, and welfare facilities in workplaces.

To this end, the Ministry plans to build spaces where startup companies can move in and grow, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and local governments, to create youth housing, daycare centers, cultural facilities, and more. Cheonan Green Startup Town will be established on the site of the urban regeneration innovation district near Cheonan Station. It consists of two buildings, Eoullim Tower and Innost Tower, and will include not only startup company spaces but also a knowledge industry center for growing companies, shared facilities for collaboration among startups, youth housing (150 units), and living infrastructure such as sports facilities and daycare centers.

Plans will also be made to support startup companies with the funds and technologies they need through cooperation with financial and investment institutions, large and medium-sized enterprises, universities, and research institutes in the Chungnam region. In particular, Chungnam was designated in 2020 as a special research zone for automotive field strong development and a regulatory free zone for hydrogen energy, and based on this, it plans to focus on nurturing startup companies in the future eco-friendly automotive sector. Additionally, the capabilities of 10 regional universities, including Dankook University and Soonchunhyang University, which are actively conducting research cooperation with excellent overseas research institutes, will be actively utilized to foster startup companies in the regional medical industry and convergence precision medicine fields.

At the vision declaration ceremony, a meeting with representatives of participating startup companies was also held. A representative of a startup company developing educational content in the Chungnam region expressed expectations that the Green Startup Town could become a representative startup hub, which has been lacking in Korea. Suggestions were also raised hoping that difficulties in hiring personnel for local startup companies would be resolved through this opportunity.

Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry said, "Green Startup Town is the result of our long-standing concerns about revitalizing the regional economy, and the role of local governments is most important to realize and lead it to success." He added, "We will cooperate with Chungnam and Cheonan to make Green Startup Town a representative case of regional balanced New Deal and will spare no support from the Ministry for the birth of unicorn companies in Cheonan."

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