Government Declares National Startup Era... Overcoming K-Shaped Growth and "Taking a Break" with Self-Created Jobs

The government has declared the beginning of a "National Startup Era" to break through the entrenched K-shaped growth centered on the Seoul metropolitan area and large corporations, as well as the increasing number of young people categorized as "taking a break." The strategy aims to transform the national economic structure from "finding jobs" to "creating jobs on one's own" by hosting large-scale startup auditions, promoting local entrepreneurship, and transferring public technology to the private sector.

Koo Yoon-chul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy, is presiding over the Emergency Economic Headquarters Meeting and the National Startup Era Strategy Meeting. Ministry of Finance and Economy.

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On April 24, at the Emergency Economic Headquarters Meeting and Economic Ministers' Meeting presided over by Koo Yoon-chul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, the government announced, through a joint statement with relevant ministries, the "Plan to Foster a Nationwide Startup Boom for the National Startup Era." Unlike previous approaches that simply distributed budgets, this measure focuses on the government sharing startup risks and creating a "startup nation" where innovation can occur anywhere across the country.

The most distinctive feature of this plan is that it elevates entrepreneurship to a "cultural phenomenon." The government will allocate an additional 200 billion won through a supplementary budget to the "Startup for Everyone" project, with plans to launch a second round of the project within the year. The first round, already underway, is selecting 5,000 teams nationwide. These teams will compete in regional and local preliminaries and proceed to the final national audition stage by the end of the year. As of April 24, a total of 14,191 ideas had been submitted via the official website, showing high enthusiasm. The ultimate winner will receive an unprecedented support package of over 1 billion won.

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Joo Hwanwook, Policy Coordinator at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, stated, "The key is for the government to act as a co-partner in entrepreneurship, sharing risks and building a system that allows anyone with an idea to start a business anywhere in the country. We will maximize the chances of success from the 'startup seed' stage of discovering good ideas to final incubation."

To promote startups, even the so-called "ironclad" technologies of research institutes will be opened up. The government plans to gradually release intellectual property (IP) owned by national and public research institutions to startups. In June, a KEPCO technology holding company will be established to launch a joint growth program for startups. This will pave the way for public technologies in the energy and climate tech sectors to flow into private startups and be commercialized.

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Previous startup policies mainly focused on "tech startups," but the current plan also supports "local startups" to revitalize regional economies. A government official explained, "When we talk about startups, we usually mean tech startups, while local startups refer to those specializing in small businesses." The government believes that once regional businesses become competitive, their influence can spread nationwide and even globally. To support this, companies attracting investment for local startups will be eligible for matching loans of up to 500 million won and commercialization funds of up to 200 million won.

The regional startup ecosystem will also be significantly strengthened. Fifty percent of the public-private joint startup discovery and nurturing project (TIPS) will be allocated to regional areas, and a 2 trillion won regional growth fund will be established by 2030, focusing on the "five core and three special" regions. TIPS is a private-led technology startup support program in which private investors (operators) make initial investments, followed by matching government support for R&D and commercialization. Addressing concerns that a lack of investment infrastructure such as accelerators (ACs) in the provinces could lead to the selection of many "weak startups" in the TIPS program, a government official said, "Establishing these funds will serve as a catalyst for investment professionals in the metropolitan area to disperse to the regions, creating a virtuous cycle."

A safety net has also been prepared for young people categorized as "taking a break" who attempt entrepreneurship but fail. The commercialization funds provided through the Startup for Everyone project will be non-repayable. To minimize risk, the government will issue a "challenge career certificate" for startup experience and offer preferential opportunities to participate in future startup support programs, ensuring that even those who fail once can try again.

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