'1st Anniversary of Inauguration' Yoon Geon-su, Chairman of Korea VC Association, "Creating a Private-led Venture Investment Market"

Marking his first anniversary in office, Yoon Geon-su, chairman of the Korea Venture Capital Association (VC Association), announced plans to lead the venture investment market toward private sector-led development by exploring measures such as 'allowing retirement pensions to invest in venture funds' and 'revitalizing the KOSDAQ market.'

(From the second person on the left) Yoon Geon-su, Chairman of the Korea VC Association, and Lim Jang-bin, CEO of SBI Capital, are holding a ceremony to commemorate the association's 200th member company enrollment on the morning of the 6th at the InterContinental Samsung Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Korea VC Association

On the 6th, the VC Association announced the '2024 Detailed Plan for the Association's Press Briefing' and held a ceremony celebrating the enrollment of its 200th member company at the InterContinental Seoul COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

On this day, Chairman Yoon cited 'improvements in venture market-related systems and deregulation' as representative achievements over the past year. He said, "We have consulted with ministries and agencies on ways to resolve internal and external risks. Emphasizing the importance of technology, we have consistently requested improvements to listing systems. As a result, the deep-tech special listing system was newly revised around September last year, and companies will begin listing under this system starting next month." The VC Association also introduced advanced venture finance techniques such as establishing special purpose companies for venture investment partnerships and achieved regulatory easing including the abolition of mandatory investment ratios for special purpose funds.

Improvement in venture investment statistics was also highlighted as a major achievement. Previously, related statistics were limited to performance-based data released based on the Korea Fund of Funds under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, but since last year, with the advancement of the venture investment fund management information system, enhanced information analysis services and integrated statistics have been provided.

Looking ahead, the key task identified is the 'creation of a private sector-led venture investment market.' Chairman Yoon stated, "It is necessary to expand the private capital base, continuously propose the discovery of new financial resources, deregulation, and expansion of incentives for investors, and we will strive to promote more company listings to revitalize the exit market."

He also plans to explore measures to allow retirement pensions to invest in venture funds. He emphasized, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has reported the performance of the Korea Fund of Funds for the first time, showing a return of 7% over 18 years. It is the best long-term financial product among all financial products. Given the need for long-term investment, it aligns well with the nature of the venture investment industry."

He also pointed out that most KOSDAQ-listed companies have a corporate value of less than 200 billion KRW. Chairman Yoon said, "The KOSDAQ market is a market for creating new industries, not a financial market. If we shift the mindset from finance to industry, we can view the market more innovatively. While regulation and consumer protection are certainly important from a financial perspective, I believe the crucial path for creating new industries in Korea is through the KOSDAQ market." He added, "We will have the KOSDAQ Market Headquarters actively attract listings and encourage institutional investors to purchase them."

A commemorative plaque was also presented to SBI Capital, the 200th member company of the VC Association. SBI Capital is a specialized credit finance company established in 2021 by SBI LK, a special purpose company under SBI Holdings. As a New Technology Business Finance Company (Shingisa), it invests in and provides loans to companies developing and commercializing new technologies in the mid and later stages. Its main investment areas include artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, materials, and components. Lim Jang-bin, CEO of SBI Capital, said, "It is an honor to become the 200th member of an association with history and tradition. I hope the 300th member will soon stand here."

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