[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The Korea International Trade Association’s ‘Startup Branch,’ which opened in June last year at COEX in Samseong-dong and recently marked its 500th day this month, is establishing itself as a hub for global innovation growth.
According to the Trade Association, the Startup Branch, established last year to foster the domestic startup ecosystem and support global scale-up, has reached its 500th day since opening. During this period, the Startup Branch has hosted visits from leading domestic and international large and medium-sized enterprises as well as startups, holding approximately 400 large-scale events such as investor relations (IR) presentations and seminars, along with over 1,000 meet-ups, exhibitions, and consultation sessions.
Located on the second floor of COEX, the Startup Branch is equipped with an IR pitching center, meeting rooms, and a networking lobby space. It has operated year-round as a branch office supporting domestic startups’ global expansion and as an open innovation hub for domestic and international large and medium-sized enterprises. In addition to consultation sessions, every third Wednesday of the month features investment attraction briefings by venture investors in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and healthcare. Various public institutions including the Creative Economy Innovation Center, Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, Korea Technology Finance Corporation, and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency also utilize the Startup Branch for demo days and seminars.
A flagship program of the Startup Branch is the 'Fortune 500 Connect,' a one-on-one consultation event between global large corporations and domestic startups. Industry stakeholders from leading global companies such as Nivea, BMW, Chanel, and Amazon, as well as major Thai corporations, Middle Eastern investors, and Brazilian accelerators, have visited the Startup Branch to meet with Korean startups. Since the first event in December 2018, including this year’s online consultation sessions, over 600 consultations have taken place between 67 global large corporations and domestic startups.
The Startup Branch is building its brand not only as a gateway for global expansion but also as a mecca for spreading open innovation from domestic large and medium-sized enterprises to public institutions. Leading domestic conglomerates such as Dongwon Group and Hoban Group, as well as medium-sized companies like Daewon and Dongyang, have explored cooperation possibilities across a wide range of sectors including distribution, construction, and IT through meetings with startups. Recently, the Gangnam District Office also visited the Startup Branch to hold startup exhibitions and consultation sessions aimed at innovating administrative work.
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