Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Implement Startup Support Project Worth 3.66 Trillion Won Next Year

Status of Support Budget for Integrated Startup Support Project Announcements by Year.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 29th the "2023 Integrated Announcement of Startup Support Projects by Central Government Ministries and Local Governments," totaling KRW 3.6607 trillion.

Since 2016, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has been implementing integrated announcements of startup support projects to provide clear information on domestic startup support programs to entrepreneurs and prospective entrepreneurs. Starting this year, the integrated announcement covers all startup support projects operated by central government ministries and local governments (metropolitan and basic).

This integrated announcement includes a total of 426 startup support projects from 103 institutions, an increase of 48 projects compared to the previous year. The total budget is KRW 3.6607 trillion, similar to last year's KRW 3.6668 trillion.

Comparing the scale of startup support for next year based on the budget by central government ministries, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the dedicated ministry for fostering startup companies, leads with KRW 3.29144 trillion, followed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (KRW 58.9 billion) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (KRW 51.6 billion).

When comparing by project type based on support budget, as in the previous year, loan support projects account for the largest share at KRW 2.0075 trillion (54.8%). This is followed by commercialization (KRW 816.7 billion, 22.3%), technology development (KRW 454.64 billion, 12.4%), and facilities, spaces, and incubation (KRW 156.86 billion, 4.3%).

On the other hand, based on the number of projects, commercialization accounts for the largest share with 172 projects (40.4%), followed by facilities, spaces, and incubation (25.1%), mentoring and consulting (17.4%), and events and networks (8.9%).

The newly added ‘Human Resources’ type startup projects for next year amount to KRW 47.03 billion (11 projects) and will be implemented by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Busan City, Chungcheongbuk-do, and others.

Major projects include the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ newly established “Startup Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Workforce Training Project” this year and the Venture Startup Academy, a collaboration among the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Customized support projects are also provided to help innovative talents with technical skills enter the startup ecosystem, develop their capabilities, and succeed.

First, to foster startups in advanced future industries, the innovation sector startup package (new industry sector) supports startup companies in new industry fields with a budget of KRW 57 billion (275 companies). Among new industry sectors, startup companies in key support areas such as system semiconductors and bio-health are selected and supported for up to 10 years instead of 7 years based on Article 25 of the "Small and Medium Enterprise Startup Support Act."

Additionally, the 'TIPS Program,' which supports promising technology startup teams discovered by private investors, will be expanded. A separate track will be established for deep-tech companies such as bio, AI, and big data to promote advanced technology and deep-tech startups.

Furthermore, collaboration with global companies will be expanded to provide opportunities for startup companies to scale up and enter global markets. To facilitate local entry and settlement of startup companies, local incubation programs, market information, and office spaces will be provided to overseas expansion companies.

The startup support portal has also been revamped to be user-tailored, making it easier to understand project details. On the portal’s main screen, users can easily search for startup support projects according to their set startup stage and areas of interest. Additionally, about 320 projects operated by local governments are arranged in a map format, allowing users to view them at a glance based on their location.

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, “This integrated announcement of startup support projects includes local government startup support projects, enabling entrepreneurs to see scattered startup support projects at a glance. We will continue to provide abundant startup-related information to nurture prepared technology entrepreneurs and strengthen linkage and cooperation among support projects.”

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