Minister Kwon Chil-seung: "We Will Establish a 3-Year Startup Plan... Revitalizing Youth Entrepreneurship"

Minister of SMEs Holds First Press Briefing Since Inauguration
Improving On-Site Regulations Blocking Youth and Manufacturing Startups
"Improving Stock Option System, Revitalizing Secondary Market"

Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government will announce a three-year plan in June that oversees overall startup policies and sets the direction. This month, it will unveil measures to revitalize youth startups, and in July, it will disclose plans to promote senior entrepreneurship.

On the 1st, Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, held a press briefing at the Government Seoul Office and revealed these plans regarding policy directions to establish the second venture boom.

Last year, venture funds newly formed venture funds worth 6.6 trillion won, and the scale of new venture investments reached 4.3 trillion won, both setting record highs.

Despite COVID-19, the enthusiasm for startups reached an all-time high. Last year, newly established corporations numbered about 123,000, double the approximately 62,000 during the first venture boom in 2001.

To sustain this startup momentum, the government will announce a three-year plan in June that oversees all startup policies across ministries and sets the direction.

Minister Kwon stated, "In the first half of this year, we will firmly establish ventures and startups as the main players in our economy and prepare additional supplementary measures to sustain the venture boom."

The supplementary measures are expected to include improvements to the stock option system to secure outstanding talent for ventures and startups, and plans to revitalize the exit market.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will collaborate with the Office for Government Policy Coordination this month to improve on-site regulations that hinder youth startups and manufacturing startups, and will announce youth startup revitalization measures reflecting field voices.

In July, they plan to prepare without delay to announce measures to promote senior entrepreneurship.

Additionally, while steadily advancing the "K-Unicorn Project," the government plans to create a growth ecosystem for unicorn births, including the introduction of multiple voting rights.

Minister Kwon said, "We will strive to have the amendments to the Venture Special Act and the Venture Investment Act, including allowing multiple voting rights for unlisted ventures and introducing investment-conditioned loans and conditional equity conversion contracts, passed within this year."

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