"Entrepreneurship Is the Future"... Iksan Accelerates "Startup Hub City" Initiative

Startup Ecosystem Centered on Specialized Industries such as Agri-Bio and Food
Integrated Infrastructure Management and Strengthened Customized Education

Iksan City in North Jeolla Province is accelerating its efforts to establish itself as a "startup hub city," positioning youth entrepreneurship as a key pillar of local growth. The city is reorganizing its startup ecosystem with a focus on the agri-bio and food industries, concentrating its administrative resources on overhauling the entire support system.

Kim Woojin, Director of Youth Economic Affairs of Iksan City, held a regular briefing on the 29th and announced the plan to "revitalize the startup ecosystem linked to the region's main industries to secure future competitiveness." Photo by Iksan City

Kim Woojin, Director of the Youth Economy Bureau of Iksan City, unveiled a plan at a regular briefing on the 29th to establish a support structure that covers the entire startup lifecycle. The goal is to strengthen the foundation for entrepreneurship linked to local industries by providing a seamless system that encompasses company discovery, incubation, investment connections, education, and provision of workspaces.

Iksan City has designated "agri-food technology (agri-food tech)" as its strategic sector, leveraging the national food cluster and its agri-bio infrastructure. The city plans to build a collaborative system not only with public institutions such as North Jeolla Province, the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Agency, and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation but also with private investment firms, aiming to create a structure that enables pilot testing, commercialization, and investment attraction for startups.

The city will also establish a centralized database to manage a total of 15 startup support facilities—either currently in operation or planned for development—covering 337 units in total. With 206 companies already housed in these facilities, the plan is to enhance access to both facilities and support programs, thereby maximizing their utilization and efficiency.

Starting in June, the Iksan Youth City Hall will launch the "2026 Iksan-Style Local Startup School," offering step-by-step education from early idea discovery to entrepreneurship, tax and accounting, marketing, and fundraising. Each company will receive more than 40 hours of intensive training to boost their commercialization capabilities, with additional efforts to connect with government support programs such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup).

Going forward, the city plans to expand its startup scope beyond the food industry to include agri-bio and veterinary pharmaceuticals. The strategy is to establish an organically connected process of discovery, investment, and commercialization, fostering the growth of companies rooted in the local community.

Director Kim Woojin stated, "Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful solutions to address population issues and inject vitality into the region," adding, "We will ensure that Iksan makes a definitive leap as a representative startup hub city, delivering tangible economic results that citizens can truly feel."

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