"Startup Venture Recession Must Be Overcome by Entering Global Markets"

Korea International Trade Association Gwangju Jeonnam, Gwangju Startup Forum and More Held

The Korea International Trade Association Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Headquarters and the Gwangju Center for Creative Economy and Innovation held the June 2023 Gwangju Startup Forum and the 15th Trade Forum on the 28th at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center.

Dr. Jin Hyung-seok of the Korea International Trade Association gave a presentation on the global scale-up track for startups at the seminar that day.

He stated, "In today's venture investment downturn, it is more important than ever to thoroughly verify product-market fit (PMF) in both domestic and international markets and grow through a global entry path that suits you."

He continued, "The deeper the current difficulties in pioneering overseas markets, the more it becomes an entry barrier (MOAT) to defend against latecomers or competitors' copies later on. Let us overcome the recession through global market entry," he emphasized.

In the following lecture, Jeong Ju-yong, CEO of Vision Creator, highlighted key strategies for the global expansion of K-startups.

CEO Jeong emphasized, "The Korean market can be one of the most competitive markets, and from the early stages of business, continuous validation of business feasibility through global market research and competitive analysis is essential."

He particularly stressed, "Through actual successful cases of startup global expansion in China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East markets, locally based startups that have strategically prepared for global expansion can find greater opportunities in global markets than in the Korean market."

CEO Jeong cited the example of iOFlow, in which Vision Creator invested at the pre-IPO stage, stating, "Following a successful KOSDAQ listing, the global M&A exit case with Medtronic, the world's largest medical device company, valued at about 900 billion KRW, is expected to provide a new growth direction for regional startups."

Since 2021, the Korea International Trade Association, together with the Gwangju Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, has been carrying out various customized innovation support projects for startups under the motto of supporting startup innovation. These include global scale-up consulting for startups, participation in Asia's largest innovation growth fair NextRise, and support for participation in open innovation with large and medium-sized enterprises.

In particular, in 2023, by reorganizing the Gwangju-Jeonnam Enterprise Council and establishing a startup subcommittee, efforts are being made to discover and resolve export difficulties faced by entrepreneurs.

Lee Dong-won, head of the Korea International Trade Association Gwangju-Jeonnam Headquarters, said, "We hope that entrepreneurs in Gwangju and Jeonnam build business models targeting global markets from the early stages and grow into Born-Global startups," adding, "In the second half of the year, we will investigate ways to revitalize startups' overseas expansion and focus on strengthening the global scale-up capabilities of local entrepreneurs."

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