Minister Lee Young: "Visiting Boston, USA This Month with Biohealth Companies"

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[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will visit Boston, USA, at the end of this month to revitalize the sluggish biohealth market.

On the 18th, Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced this at the 'Venture Capital Forum' held at the Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. This forum was organized to seek countermeasures together with the venture capital industry and the government amid a downturn in the venture investment market.

Minister Lee began by saying, "During the COVID-19 crisis, biohealth companies were thriving by receiving investments based on their corporate value, but suddenly the market collapsed, so we thought it necessary to provide specialized support."

Recently, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups established the approximately 300 billion KRW 'K-Bio Lab Hub' in Songdo, Incheon, benchmarking the 'Lab Central' of the Boston bio-cluster in the United States.

Minister Lee stated, "Next week, we will work on connecting Songdo, Incheon, and Boston," adding, "We will select biohealth startups and go to Boston, USA, to conduct IR (Investor Relations)."

He said, "We believe biohealth requires specialized support," and added, "We will do our best to ensure they are not left out during these difficult times."

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that venture investment in the first quarter of this year decreased by about 60.3% compared to the same period last year, totaling 881.5 billion KRW, and fund formation dropped by 78.6% to 569.6 billion KRW.

Due to this recent 'financial blockage' in the venture investment market, biohealth companies in the domestic venture capital industry are reported to be facing difficulties.

Gu Young-kwon, Vice President of Smilegate Investment, said, "Investment and startups in biohealthcare companies were active, but they suffered the greatest blow after the COVID-19 crisis ended."

He added, "Considering the declining investment market environment, we are focusing on the growth of existing portfolio companies and follow-up investments."

Vice President Gu suggested, "Listing regulations for bio companies have become stricter. A system is needed that helps companies get listed if they are judged to be good by market logic and have no special violations, like the NASDAQ in the United States."

Yoon Geon-su, Chairman of the Korea Venture Capital Association, said, "The best message is for the government to inject many resources into the venture industry through budget increases," adding, "If the mother fund is increased, the speed of new fund formation will accelerate, and early-stage companies will benefit greatly."

In response, Minister Lee said, "We will soon announce a comprehensive edition of the Startup Korea policy," and previewed, "Along with bold improvements in laws, systems, and infrastructure, we will announce a system that allows overseas talents to start businesses freely in Korea."

Additionally, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Financial Services Commission plan to announce measures within this week to improve funding conditions and enhance competitiveness for venture and startup companies.

Minister Lee also revealed plans including ▲improvements to 'complex regulations' spanning multiple ministries ▲creation of global innovation zones ▲joint fund formation with Saudi Arabia ▲introducing K-Startups to overseas venture capital (VC) firms.

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