Government Venture Capital Talent Program Bears Fruit... Korea University Advances to Top 6 in Global Investment Competition

Venture Investment Talent Development Program Shows Results in Its First Year

Korean Team Demonstrates Capabilities on Global Stage, Competing Against Yale, LBS, and Others

Young Korean venture investment talents, fostered through government support, have demonstrated their capabilities on the global stage. This achievement is regarded as proof of the effectiveness of Korea’s education, selection, and international verification system, which links domestic preliminary competitions (UVICK) with global events.

On April 21, the Korea Venture Capital Association (VC Association) announced that the Korea University team, which participated in the “Preliminary Youth Venture Investment Talent Development Program” promoted under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' “VC Advancement Project,” advanced to the Top 6 in the “2026 VCIC (Venture Capital Investment Competition) Global Final” held at the University of North Carolina in the United States from April 17 to 18.

VCIC participants are taking a commemorative photo. VC Association

The VCIC is the world's largest hands-on venture investment education program, launched in the United States in 1998. Participants are tested on practical skills across the entire investment process, from startup analysis and Q&A to investment review, term negotiations, and simulated investment decisions. The competition judges participants as they make investment decisions through the actual IR (investment relations) pitching and Q&A sessions of real startups.

This year, 105 universities from 12 countries participated. The Global Final MBA division featured leading institutions such as Chicago Booth School of Business, Yale School of Management, and London Business School. The Korea University team outperformed these prestigious competitors to become the first Korean team to advance to the Top 6, showcasing the analytical and investment decision-making abilities of Korean youth talents to the world.

The Korea University Advanced Technology & Business team, which represented Korea, shared, “It was a meaningful opportunity to validate the venture investment practical skills we honed domestically on the global stage. The pre-competition training and UVICK experience provided us with the confidence to compete with international teams.”

This team had previously claimed first place at UVICK on January 16, an event hosted by the VC Association with six university teams participating. Unlike simple idea presentations, this event had students act as venture capitalists to identify promising startups and make investment decisions. Designed to cultivate global Korean venture investment talents, this was the first year that Korean representatives achieved results through direct linkage with a global competition.

A representative from the VC Association emphasized, “Building on this achievement, we will further advance the youth venture investment talent development system in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. We will continue to expand practical education and global linkage programs going forward.”

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