POSCO Holdings Supports Venture Startups Based on Seoul National University Research Achievements

Comprehensive Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration
Establishment of Master's and Doctoral Scholarship Programs
POSCO Group Recruitment Linkage

POSCO Holdings has partnered with Seoul National University to expand the venture ecosystem and strengthen group competitiveness.

On the 11th, POSCO Holdings and Seoul National University signed a comprehensive industry-academia-research cooperation agreement at the POSCO Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The signing ceremony was attended by POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo, Seoul National University President Yoo Hong-rim, and executives and presidents from both sides.

Through this agreement, POSCO Group plans to connect Seoul National University's outstanding research achievements to startups using the POSCO Group venture platform and support commercialization through venture fund investment linkage.

POSCO Group will also collaborate with Seoul National University on joint research and development in core business areas and talent cultivation. The group plans to review the operation of open collaborative research projects involving excellent professors and students from Seoul National University across its core businesses. Additionally, a scholarship system will be established for master's and doctoral students, with plans to link this to POSCO Group recruitment.

Chairman Choi said, “We will actively invest in Seoul National University's excellent technologies and commercialize them to foster companies that will lead the future of Korea.” He added, “POSCO Group will recruit world-class talent and increase R&D investment to become a leading company in eco-friendly future materials.”

Chairman Choi Jung-woo of POSCO Group [Photo by Yonhap News]

POSCO Group is supporting venture companies in startup incubation, product development, and market expansion, while establishing venture funds to invest according to each growth stage, thereby building a full-cycle virtuous 'venture platform' to revitalize the venture ecosystem. Through operating the venture platform, POSCO Group utilizes its excellent industry-academia-research infrastructure to assist and nurture outstanding venture startups, linking promising future businesses to the group’s new businesses to secure continuous growth momentum and contribute to regional economic revitalization through job creation.

ChangeUpGround Pohang, opened in July 2021, is a venture nurturing cradle with seven floors above ground, one basement floor, and a total floor area of 28,000㎡, providing business spaces for startups and supporting research, investment, and nurturing programs. There are 115 venture companies residing in ChangeUpGround locations in Pohang, Gwangyang, and Seoul. The total corporate value amounts to 1.4 trillion KRW, with approximately 1,100 employees. In January this year, a ChangeUpGround office was also opened in Silicon Valley, USA, to connect domestic venture companies with local partners and support overseas expansion.

Earlier, on the 18th of last month, President Yoo and other key officials from Seoul National University visited POSCO Group’s industry-academia-research sites such as the Pohang Light Source Accelerator and the Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology Manufacturing Incubating Center to discuss cooperation plans.

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