MSME Ministry Expands Korea-Japan Shuttle Diplomacy to Bilateral Startup Hubs

Vice Minister Noh Yongseok visits Japanese startup hubs Shonan I-Park and CIC Tokyo
Discussing cooperation models between the two countries' innovation hubs

Noh Yongseok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, carried out on-site activities in Japan to strengthen cooperation between Korean and Japanese startup hubs.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that on the 25th, Vice Minister Noh visited Shonan I-Park in Fujisawa and the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in Tokyo, where he held a series of meetings. This visit was arranged as part of a high-level follow-up trip to Japan under the Korea-Japan summit shuttle diplomacy framework, with the aim of building a cooperative structure for sustainable innovation by bio startups centered around key hubs in both countries.

Noh Yongseok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Shonan I-Park, which Vice Minister Noh visited in the morning, is a global open innovation hub established by Takeda, Japan's largest pharmaceutical company. It serves as a core platform for Korea-Japan bio cooperation, where Korean bio ventures have produced tangible outcomes such as research collaboration with Japanese pharmaceutical firms and global companies. Since signing a business agreement with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in 2023, it has continued its cooperation, and currently 10 Korean venture companies are resident there with support from the Chungbuk Global Innovation Zone’s overseas demonstration program.

At Shonan I-Park, Vice Minister Noh met with CEO Toshio Fujimoto to discuss ways to link and cooperate with the K-Bio Lab Hub being built in Songdo, Incheon (Yonsei University International Campus). The two sides agreed that until the completion of the K-Bio Lab Hub, scheduled for the second half of 2028, they will first pursue program-centered cooperation, and after completion, they will expand cooperation to include mutual sharing of equipment and tenant space. In particular, as the first stage of cooperation, they discussed holding the Korean preliminary round in Songdo, Incheon, where the K-Bio Lab Hub is located, for “Innovation Tiger,” a program run by Shonan I-Park that discovers promising pharmaceutical and bio startups and connects them with global investors and pharmaceutical companies.

Noh Yongseok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is visiting Japan's Shonan I-Park on the 25th and holding a meeting with representatives of tenant companies. Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Vice Minister Noh also met with representatives from the 10 bio ventures residing in Shonan I-Park to hear about the progress of their local demonstrations and the difficulties they face. The companies requested policy support to enable their joint research and development (R&D) with Japanese pharmaceutical firms to lead to subsequent commercialization and follow-up projects. Vice Minister Noh said, “Shonan I-Park is a representative on-site example where Korea-Japan bio cooperation is translating into concrete results,” adding, “The government will continue to strengthen support that connects joint R&D to commercialization, based on the voices from the field.”

CIC, which Vice Minister Noh visited after Shonan I-Park, is also a global startup hub with bases in major cities around the world. The K-Startup Center opened at CIC Tokyo in May 2024, and currently 24 Korean startups are resident there, receiving support for their overall business activities, including office space and collaboration with local large corporations and municipal governments. Vice Minister Noh held talks with Tim Rowe, head of CIC Tokyo, to discuss ways to link and cooperate with the K-Startup Hub being established in the Hongdae area of Seoul.

On the occasion of this visit, the two sides agreed to build a cooperative framework between the K-Startup Hub and CIC, and to gradually promote programs for global networking and investment linkage for startups in strategic fields. Vice Minister Noh said, “Korea-Japan startup cooperation is an important foundation for advancing comprehensive cooperation in economic security and science and technology,” and added, “Going forward, we will expand cooperation between Korean and Japanese innovation hubs in fields such as bio, AI, and deep tech, and actively support the global expansion of Korean startups and the joint growth of the Korea-Japan startup ecosystem.”

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