Promising Startup Employees Commute to Gangwon-do Mining Villages

Promising Startups Relocate to Gangwon-do Mining Area
'Next Unicorn Project' Bearing Fruit
NextOn and Jewoo Technology Complete Relocation

The results of the ‘Next Unicorn Project,’ which supports the relocation of promising startups to Gangwon Province, are becoming concrete. This project is a business that supports the relocation of youth startup companies to the abandoned mining areas of Gangwon for regional economic revitalization and national balanced development, led by the Small and Medium Business Corporation, Kangwon Land, the Local Era Committee, the Foundation for Cooperation between Large, Medium, and Small Enterprises and Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation. Since its launch in 2019, 12 companies have been selected over four rounds, and this year, the application process to select three companies is currently underway. Selected companies must relocate at least one of their headquarters or factories to one of the cities or counties in Gangwon Province?Taebaek-si, Samcheok-si, Yeongwol-gun, or Jeongseon-gun?within three years, and recently, companies that have completed their relocation are emerging one after another.

According to the Small and Medium Business Corporation on the 13th, NextOn, a first-round selected company of the ‘Next Unicorn Project,’ has completed a factory in Jangseong-dong, Taebaek-si, Gangwon Province, and has begun full-scale operations. NextOn, a smart farm company, established a 3,930㎡ facility on the site of the Jangseong Mining Complex in Taebaek, which is a farm capable of producing strawberries indoors. It aims for an annual production volume of up to 300 tons. Also, Jeuwu Technology, another first-round selected company, relocated its headquarters to Yeongwol-si last year. This company, which develops implant tooth processing machines, is actively conducting related business while residing in the Yeongwol-gun Startup Incubation Center.

NextOn workplace in Taebaek-si, Gangwon-do

Artison & Ocean, which develops technology to use smartphones as diving computers, compasses, cameras, etc., during scuba diving, is preparing a smart factory in Taebaek-si. Additionally, Blue Motion Tech, a second-round selected company, has completed remodeling an idle factory in the Cheoram Agricultural and Industrial Complex in Taebaek and plans to start operations in December. Joanne Kang, a third-round selected company that manufactures pet food linked to local agricultural products, has newly built a factory in the Yeongwol 3rd Agricultural and Industrial Complex.

The reason these startups, aspiring to become unicorn companies (unlisted companies valued at over 1 trillion won), choose Gangwon Province instead of downtown Seoul is that they can take a step forward based on the benefits given to selected companies. If selected for this project, companies can receive up to 1 billion won in support funds from Kangwon Land. The Small and Medium Business Corporation provides linked support such as policy funds. The Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation offers preferential treatment for alternative industry loans in abandoned mining area promotion districts. There are also relocation subsidies and tax reduction benefits from local governments. In a situation where investment in startups has shrunk, relocating to Gangwon Province provides a foothold for growth.

The competition rate among startups wishing to move to Gangwon Province is also high. In the fourth round selected last year, a total of 65 companies applied for the final selection of three companies, showing a competition rate of 21.6 to 1. Joh Han-gyo, head of the Human Resources Growth Division at the Small and Medium Business Corporation, said, "The Gangwon Next Unicorn Project supports both the innovative growth of youth startups and regional economic revitalization through cooperation between local governments and related organizations. The Small and Medium Business Corporation will actively support excellent companies to create quality jobs and grow as pillars supporting regional balanced development."

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