"Breathing New Life into Abandoned Mining Areas" Nationwide Application for 81 Youth Startup Companies

Jungjingong, Gangwon Next Unicorn Project 'Competition Rate 27 to 1'
Relocation to Gangwon Abandoned Mine Area... Up to 1 Billion KRW Commercialization Funding Support

Group photo of participants in the Gangwon Next Unicorn Project held on May 20, (front row, first from the left) Jo Jeong-gwon, Vice President of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency. Photo by Korea SMEs and Startups Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Small and Medium Business Corporation announced on the 1st that a total of 81 companies that graduated from the Youth Startup Academy applied for the '2020 Gangwon Next Unicorn Project,' recording a competition rate of 27 to 1.

The Gangwon Next Unicorn Project is a program that supports the relocation of youth startup companies to abandoned mine areas to revitalize the regional economy and promote balanced development. It is operated in cooperation with the Small and Medium Business Corporation, Kangwon Land, Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation, and the Foundation for Cooperation between Large, Small, and Medium Enterprises and Agriculture and Fisheries. After completing the document screening, the Small and Medium Business Corporation plans to select supported companies through final evaluations using presentation reviews and a public participation group.

The three companies finally selected will receive benefits such as ▲up to 1 billion KRW in support funds per company (funded by Kangwon Land) ▲policy funds and investment/loan linkage support (Small and Medium Business Corporation) ▲preferential support for alternative industry loans in abandoned mine area promotion districts and linkage to urban regeneration project businesses (Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation) ▲linkage to win-win programs (Foundation for Cooperation between Large, Small, and Medium Enterprises and Agriculture and Fisheries).

Selected companies must relocate their headquarters, factories, or research institutes to one of the following locations within one year: Taebaek-si, Samcheok-si, Yeongwol-gun, or Jeongseon-gun in Gangwon Province. This is expected to create new jobs in the Gangwon abandoned mine areas and revitalize the regional economy.

In May, the Small and Medium Business Corporation was recognized for its contribution to discovering new regional growth engines and creating quality jobs through the Gangwon Next Unicorn Project and received the National Balanced Development Award from the National Balanced Development Committee. Additionally, it was selected as the only excellent case among quasi-governmental institutions at the 2020 Active Administration Best Practices Competition jointly hosted by the Ministry of Personnel Management, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Kim Hakdo, Chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation, said, “The Next Unicorn Project is a project started with the unified cooperation of local governments and related organizations to revive the economy of the coal mining areas in Gangwon Province.” He added, “We will generously support excellent companies that graduated from the Youth Startup Academy to invigorate the regional economy and further grow into global unicorn companies.”