KCCI's Ambitious 'National Development Project' Accelerates Commercialization... Shinhan Bank's 'Credit Payment Hi-Pass' and More

National Ideas to Service Realization 'Within Reach'
SME Accounts Receivable Payment Service, etc.

Chairman Chey Tae-won Encourages Representatives of Selected Commercialization Companies

"Documentary Production During Commercialization Process... Inspiring Entrepreneurship"

Seoul Jung-gu Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building. (Photo by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) is officially launching the commercialization of its ambitious 'National Development Project Contest.' The business items discovered by gathering ideas from the public will be realized as actual services by companies.

KCCI announced on the afternoon of the 23rd that it held a launch meeting for the commercialization of national development ideas. Attendees included business representatives from companies driving commercialization such as Lee Ju-il, CEO of NextStory; Heo Gijun, CEO of BplusLab; Go Myungjin, CEO of SilviaHealth; and Yang Myungjin, manager at Shinhan Bank. Mentors from the 'Idea League' such as Choi Tae-won, Chairman of KCCI; Lee Han-joo, CEO of Bespin Global; and Jung Kyung-sun, CEO of Silvan Group also participated in the meeting.

The companies selected for commercialization were chosen through the 'Commercialization Challenge' contest conducted by KCCI. To find CEOs who would turn business ideas proposed by the public into actual businesses, KCCI accepted applications for about a month, then selected companies through document screening and presentation interviews conducted by judges including startup accelerators and venture capital (VC) representatives.

Among the selected companies, KoreaGame will carry out the 'NextStory' project, which combines tourism and gaming to revitalize local tourism. Wooridongnae Hospital introduced 'BplusLab,' a platform matching patients and hospitals for night and weekend medical care. SilviaHealth presented a system that diagnoses and prevents dementia through video calls for minor conversations. Shinhan Bank is promoting the 'Oesanggap Highpass' project, a platform that settles accounts receivable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through an online platform.

Yang Myungjin, manager at Shinhan Bank participating in the project, said, "SMEs are the foundation and growth engine of the economy, but they face difficulties in smooth funding because they cannot pass the credit evaluation threshold of financial institutions. If this idea is realized, the value of commerce in the production process will be properly evaluated, enabling funding and supporting SMEs struggling due to COVID-19." Heo Gijun, CEO of BplusLab, said, "Through the Commercialization Challenge, we will take the lead in promoting public health by building an AI medical inquiry solution and a real-time hospital connection system."

Chairman Choi Tae-won said, "For the contest started last year to succeed, it is important that the public's ideas are actually commercialized. I hope that through free discussions on commercialization directions and advice from mentors at the meeting, business plans will become more concrete," encouraging the companies. Lee Han-joo, one of the participating company mentors, said, "These projects are expected to have not only social value but also high profitability. Since communication with various stakeholders is important during commercialization, I hope KCCI will provide more support to the companies."

KCCI plans to continue supporting the participating companies until they officially launch their businesses, starting with this meeting. In particular, it will actively utilize KCCI's 'Regulatory Sandbox' to ensure that new ideas are not blocked by regulations. Using the network of 190,000 member companies, KCCI will facilitate matching between entrepreneurs, accelerators, and experts with participating companies. The entire commercialization process will be documented to raise public interest in national development ideas and enhance corporate entrepreneurship.

Jo Young-jun, Director of Sustainable Management at KCCI, emphasized, "The National Development Project is a mid- to long-term project that has been underway since June last year for Korea's economic innovation and social development. We will strive to create a virtuous cycle where public ideas lead to commercialization and new ideas are further stimulated."

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