Vice Minister Ki: "Strengthening Venture and Startup Policies at Ha Gyeongbang... Securing Excellent Digital Talent"

Visit to the World's Largest Startup Support Center 'Front1'
Ventures Are the Key to Korea's Economy, Employment & R&D... Solution for 'Quality Jobs'
Full-Scale Investment of 1 Trillion KRW Smart Korea Fund in Second Half
K-Unicorn Project Provides 10 Billion KRW Guarantee & IR Support to Pre-Unicorn Companies

Lee Ok-won, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, listens to an explanation during his visit to 'Front1,' the world's largest startup support center, on the afternoon of the 8th. (Photo by Ministry of Economy and Finance)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Lee Eokwon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated on the 8th, "The government will resolve the urgent issue of securing outstanding talent, which has become an even more pressing task amid the rapid digital transformation."

On the same day, Vice Minister Lee visited Front1 in Mapo-gu, Seoul, the world's largest startup support center, and said that the venture industry plays a significant role in South Korea's economic recovery and future preparedness.

He explained that the contribution of venture companies to research and development (R&D) and employment is higher than that of large corporations and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Last year, the total sales of the venture industry amounted to 193 trillion won, similar to Samsung Group's 254 trillion won and Hyundai Motor Group's 179 trillion won, but employment reached 804,000 people, which is twice the combined scale of Samsung Group's 250,000 and Hyundai Motor Group's 162,000 employees. In particular, 53,000 jobs were created in the venture industry last year alone. Vice Minister Lee emphasized that revitalizing ventures is the key to providing "quality jobs." The R&D investment ratio was also more than twice as high as that of large corporations and SMEs, at 4.9% of total sales, compared to 1.7% and 0.7%, respectively.

Despite the COVID-19 crisis last year, 229,000 technology-based startups were established in the venture industry, and the newly raised venture fund amount and venture investment reached record highs of 6.6 trillion won and 4.3 trillion won, respectively. Vice Minister Lee said, "These achievements of the venture industry are very encouraging, and I sincerely thank you for your hard work."

He added, "The venture industry is leading global trend changes," and stated, "Especially when young people, the future leaders, drive change, ventures should actively share risks, and the government should play a role in supporting through funding and ecosystem creation."

He said, "Through the economic policy direction for the second half of the year, which the Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to announce this month, we will strengthen policies related to ventures and startups," and emphasized, "The government will make further efforts to resolve the issue of securing digital talent, grow startup companies into unicorns, and solidify a healthy venture ecosystem where investors can recover investment returns through appropriate exit strategies."

In this regard, the government plans to accelerate investments of the 1 trillion won-scale Smart Korea Fund in the second half of the year and speed up support for prospective unicorn companies selected under the K-Unicorn Project. The Smart Korea Fund investment project is scheduled to proceed with 900 billion won in September and 100 billion won in November. Under the K-Unicorn Project, support will include 300 million won in market pioneering funds, 10 billion won in special guarantees, and assistance for investor relations (IR) to attract follow-up investments in the financial market.

Vice Minister Lee said, "We will continue efforts to improve related regulations such as regulatory sandboxes to maximize the expression of private creativity," and added, "The multiple voting rights and complex finance bills have already undergone sufficient discussion and are currently being deliberated in the National Assembly, so we will actively work to ensure their prompt passage."

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