Advancing the Tech Startup Ecosystem through Support for Promising Startup Technology Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 17th that it has selected 430 startups (47 billion KRW) for the first half Didimdol projects under the 'Startup Growth Technology Development Project.'

The Startup Growth Technology Development Project aims to activate technology startups and promote the growth of startup companies by supporting research and development (R&D) of startups with growth potential. It supports startups that have been established for less than seven years and have recent sales of less than 2 billion KRW.

The Didimdol project provides R&D expenses to companies participating in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' R&D projects for the first time, supporting up to 120 million KRW in technology development costs for beginner R&D startups for one year.

Among the 1,943 projects submitted in the first half of this year, an R&D evaluation team was formed according to the characteristics of each technology field, and 430 companies were finally selected after strict evaluation of technological feasibility and business potential in each field. Looking at the regional distribution, companies in the metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon) accounted for more than half (58.8%), similar to the first half of last year (59.2%). Next were 59 companies (13.7%) from Bu-Ul-Gyeong (Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam) and 46 companies (10.7%) from the Chungcheong region (Daejeon, Sejong, Chungbuk, Chungnam).

Regarding regional characteristics, in the metropolitan area, information and communication (41.1%) and electrical and electronics (15.4%) fields were selected in order. The largest number of companies were those with a business period of one to less than three years, totaling 121 companies (47.8%).

Next, in Bu-Ul-Gyeong, which had a high selection ratio, the mechanical and materials field (32.2%) and bio and medical field (22.0%) were in order. Similar to the metropolitan area, companies with a business period of one to less than three years (55.9%) were the most numerous.

In the Chungcheong region, the mechanical and materials field (28.3%) and bio and medical field (19.6%) were in order. In the Yeongnam and Honam regions, the mechanical and materials field had the highest selection ratio, while in other regions, the information and communication field had the highest selection ratio.

Won Young-jun, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "The employment growth rate of ventures and startups last year was more than three times higher than the average of all companies, showing that ventures and startups play an important role in creating jobs in Korea," adding, "We will support startups' technology development so that they can grow as key players in our economy."

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