Kwon Chil-seung Praises "7 Unicorn Startups Last Year"... President Moon Also Commends as "Amazing Achievement"

Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, praised the growth and entrepreneurial spirit of domestic unicorn companies.

On the 15th, Minister Kwon stated on his social media (SNS), "Over the past year, seven new unicorn companies with a corporate value exceeding 1 trillion won have emerged," adding, "There were only three unicorn companies in 2017 when the Moon Jae-in administration began, but now there are as many as 18." Unicorn companies refer to unlisted startups valued at over 1 trillion won.

Minister Kwon also shared the employment creation status of unicorn companies. He said, "As of the end of June last year, eight unicorn companies increased their employment by approximately 2,100 people over one year," noting, "This means an average increase of 265 employees per company."

He also mentioned the characteristics of the companies newly classified as unicorns. He explained, "Looking at the newly minted unicorn companies, there are companies closely related to our daily lives, such as Kurly, a fresh food delivery company; Danggeun Market, a secondhand trading platform; and Dunamu, a virtual asset exchange," adding, "These companies are changing our lifestyle and economic structure and are growing into new economic actors."

Minister Kwon cited venture capital investment and government policy support as the reasons for the increase in unicorn companies. He said, "This was possible because young people armed with excellent entrepreneurship started businesses, and venture capitals that select and boldly invest in these outstanding entrepreneurs exist," adding, "The government has also been striving to support them through startup support projects, investment fund creation via the Korea Fund of Funds, and the advancement of investment systems, and I believe these efforts are bearing fruit."

Furthermore, he quoted meaningful statistics related to venture companies. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA)'s '2021 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)' survey, South Korea ranked 6th among 50 surveyed countries. Minister Kwon commented, "Among the survey items, the proportion of respondents who answered that they have a 'fear of failure' was the second lowest among the surveyed countries," evaluating that "this reflects the challenging and progressive spirit of our entrepreneurs and trust in startup support policies."

Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in shared Minister Kwon’s post on his SNS. President Moon emphasized, "This is an amazing achievement made during the COVID-19 situation," and stated, "Venture and startups are the future and hope of our economy."

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