Seungbeom Go, Youth Entrepreneurs Meeting "Let's Turn Crisis into Opportunity"

Seungbeom Go Visits Startup Support Center Mapo Front1 Site

On the afternoon of the 7th, Ko Seung-beom, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, held a meeting at Front1, a startup complex support space in Mapo-gu, Seoul, with youth entrepreneurs, accelerators, and venture capitals (AC·VC) involved in nurturing and investing in startups, to discuss the need for the development of the startup ecosystem.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jin-ho] Ko Seung-beom, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, held a meeting with young entrepreneurs on the 7th and emphasized that "even amid the uncertainty of COVID-19, we can turn crisis into opportunity."

On the same day, Chairman Ko visited the Startup Support Center Seoul Mapo Front1 to communicate about the necessity of developing the startup ecosystem. The meeting was attended by Chairman Ko, five representatives of young entrepreneurs, Jang Byung-don, Vice President of the Korea Development Bank, Park Cheong-jun, Vice President of the Industrial Bank of Korea, and other policy financial institutions.

In his opening remarks, Chairman Ko stated, "Historically, after pandemics, companies have tried new methods, leading to significant epochal changes," and added, "If we effectively utilize digitalization, climate change, and the platform economy, Korean startups can grow into unicorn companies leading the world."

He also urged, "Policy financial institutions and D.CAMP need to play a more active role in providing balanced support according to the growth stages when supporting young startups."

For the development of the startup ecosystem, Chairman Ko said, "We must support connections with overseas networks so that our companies can be incorporated into the global value chain (GVC) from the early stages," and "We need to deeply consider win-win models between major influential platforms and startups."

He went on to mention Airbnb and Uber, promising, "We will actively support young entrepreneurs to grow into these global startup companies."

The Financial Services Commission plans to continue efforts to create a startup ecosystem by providing financial support such as loans, investments, and guarantees, along with nurturing, IR, and startup spaces for young startup companies.

In particular, they will focus on institutional foundations for innovative startups such as revitalizing crowdfunding, supporting KOSDAQ listings, financial regulatory sandboxes, and the three data laws, and plan to actively invest by creating a 20 trillion won New Deal Fund in digital and green sectors after COVID-19.

At the meeting, young entrepreneurs requested regulatory relaxations essential for innovative startups, such as regulatory sandboxes, and continuous promotion of new businesses like MyData licensing. They also conveyed the need for policy support for employees to secure excellent talent.

Accelerators (AC) and venture capitals (VC) conducting startup nurturing and investment suggested that support for startup spaces like Front1 should be expanded to local areas. They also requested regulatory relaxation for overseas startup investments, expanded linkage with university startup ecosystems, and support for activating energy-related startups.

In response, the Financial Services Commission plans to enhance the innovative startup support system based on the proposals from this meeting.

First, to revitalize local innovative startups, the IBK Changgong Daejeon branch is scheduled to open next month (December 2021). The Korea Development Bank, together with Korea Growth Investment Corporation and D.CAMP, will newly establish a 42 billion won 'Front1 Youth Startup Fund' to expand investments in young startup companies.

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