Yu Woong-hwan, New CEO of Korea Venture Investment, "Qualitative Transformation of Venture Investment Ecosystem with Silicon Valley Know-how" [Biz Leader]

Heavy Responsibility in Capital Market Contraction Period
Time for Long-Term Vision
Focused Investment in Startup Early Stage, Youth, Women, and 'Chogyeokcha' Sectors

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] “Based on the know-how accumulated at the heart of Silicon Valley, the world's largest venture cluster, I want to contribute to the qualitative transformation of Korea's venture investment ecosystem.”

Yoo Woong-hwan, CEO of Korea Venture Investment, said in an exclusive interview with Asia Economy on the 23rd, “The domestic and international environment surrounding ventures and startups is not easy, but on the other hand, it is an opportunity to take creative destruction as a new growth engine for the Republic of Korea.”

Starting today, CEO Yoo begins his role as the head of Korea Venture Investment, which serves as a catalyst for domestic venture investment. Korea Venture Investment held an extraordinary general meeting the day before and confirmed Yoo's appointment. As the 8th CEO, he will focus on revitalizing the domestic venture investment ecosystem for the next three years.

CEO Yoo, who holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), spent 10 years in Silicon Valley, USA, working as an engineer and senior manager at Intel. Afterwards, he served as an executive overseeing semiconductor engineering and future technologies at Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Company. He co-chaired the 4th Industrial Revolution and Jobs Committee in former President Moon Jae-in’s last presidential campaign. He also led the ESG Innovation Group at SK Telecom. Recently, he served as a member of the Economic Subcommittee 2 of the 20th Presidential Transition Committee.

He is a seasoned figure with extensive experience at leading domestic and international companies such as Intel, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Company, and SK Telecom. He is recognized as an expert well-versed in innovative technologies. Additionally, he has secured diverse networks in both government and private sectors, raising expectations that he can effectively serve as a bridge within the industry.

CEO Yoo emphasized, “I believe my strengths lie in my industrial field experience and understanding of national governance,” adding, “As a member of the Economic Subcommittee 2 of the Presidential Transition Committee, I worked closely with Minister of Industry Lee Chang-yang and Presidential Office Economic Security Secretary Wang Yoon-jong.”

He continued, “We reviewed national tasks including innovative industrial policies, startup activation, regulatory reform, and job creation,” and said, “I especially focused on semiconductor policies and the ‘ESG 1 Million Jobs’ plan.” He added, “When I was a senior manager at Intel, I supported in-house startup ventures, and as an executive in charge of open innovation at SK Telecom, I created numerous growth cases through collaboration and acceleration with venture companies.”

Regarding future operational plans for Korea Venture Investment, he stated, “We will spare no effort in actively supporting the Korea Fund of Funds,” and “We will also actively communicate with the venture capital industry so that the Fund of Funds can serve as a catalyst to facilitate more active inflow of private capital into the venture investment market, and actively support startups and VCs in expanding overseas.”

Addressing concerns from the industry about the reduction in the Fund of Funds budget, he said he plans to listen to voices from the field, including venture capital and startups. While understanding the field situation, he aims to coordinate with the relevant ministries to ensure continuous activation of venture investment.

CEO Yoo said, “It is precisely when the capital market shrinks, as recently, that there is a need to revitalize the venture ecosystem by inducing investment in areas requiring a long-term perspective,” adding, “While continuous contributions to the Fund of Funds are necessary, considering limited resources, we will focus investments intensively on policy-driven sectors such as early-stage startups, youth, women, and areas with a super-gap.”

He also emphasized creative destruction, stating that a company’s business model should go beyond simple profit generation to solve social challenges including environmental issues.

CEO Yoo said, “Creative destruction becomes the DNA of first movers who dominate the world,” and predicted, “Issues recently highlighted such as the climate crisis and supply chain restructuring due to US-China decoupling will gradually place ESG values at the center of corporate management.”

He further stated, “Creative destruction is a key factor that made Silicon Valley’s success possible,” emphasizing, “To achieve this, companies must place talent (people) at the center and invest intensively.” He added, “Investment in talent (people) directly returns to the company and enables sustainable growth.”

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