Minister Kwon Chil-seung of SMEs and Startups: "Innovative Startup Companies Are the Main Players of the 'Second Venture Boom' Amid COVID-19"

TIPS Startup Companies and Operators Meeting

Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 28th that Minister Kwon Chil-seung held an on-site meeting with representatives of TIPS startup companies and operating firms.

At the meeting held in the morning at TIPS Town in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Minister Kwon said, "Among the 300 Asian leaders under 30 announced by Forbes on the 20th, 15 were representatives of Korean startup companies, and 10 of them were from TIPS," adding, "Innovative startups have led the second venture boom despite the COVID-19 crisis."

TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) is a program jointly operated by the private sector and the government to discover and nurture promising startups. It selects startup teams using private operators such as successful venture entrepreneurs and promotes startups by linking private investment with government R&D, fostering high-level technical personnel entrepreneurship. The system was introduced in 2013, and the first TIPS Town was established in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, in 2015, serving as a catalyst for the startup ecosystem.

To date, TIPS has nurtured 1,234 startup companies and attracted a total of 3.9149 trillion KRW in private follow-up investments. Among them, 25 companies succeeded in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and 5 companies succeeded in initial public offerings (IPO).

Minister Kwon made his first visit to TIPS Town, which represents startup policies, to listen to and encourage the voices of TIPS startups and operating firms on site.

The meeting was attended by Minister Kwon, Oh Ki-woong, Director of Startup Promotion Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Mok Seunghwan, CEO of Seoul National University Technology Holdings (a TIPS operator), and five representatives of TIPS participating companies. Startup company representatives freely shared management difficulties and suggestions for improving the venture startup ecosystem.

A Ministry of SMEs and Startups official said, "We plan to promptly review the discussions held today, reflect them in policies, and continue to expand communication with companies in the future."

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