14 Startup Ideas Flood In... '1st Southeast Region Startup Competition' Awards Ceremony

Nationwide Festival to Foster Startup Boom in Metropolitan Area and Bu-Ul-Gyeong Megacity
Awards and Startup Special Lecture at Grand Mercure Ambassador Changwon on November 5th, 2 PM
Grand Prize in Startup Company Category Awarded to Teampleback Co

Southeast Mega City Startup Idea Competition Award-Winning Team.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The award ceremony for the ‘1st Southeast Region Mega City Startup Idea Competition,’ jointly hosted for the first time this year by Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, will be held on the 5th at the Grand Mercure Ambassador Changwon.

Co-organized by the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam Creative Economy Innovation Centers, the event will be attended by Park Seong-hoon, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Busan; Jo Won-kyung, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Ulsan; Park Jong-won, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs of Gyeongnam Province; Yoon Seok-bae, Head of Startup Ecosystem Formation at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; officials from the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam Regional Small and Medium Venture Business Administration and Creative Economy Innovation Centers; 14 award-winning startup teams; investors; and about 100 others.

To overcome the less favorable startup environment compared to the metropolitan area, this event was adopted as a new startup support task at the ‘2nd Southeast Region Win-Win Development Council Working-level Meeting’ in December last year and is being held for the first time this year.

The three cities and provinces will take turns hosting the event, starting with Gyeongnam this year, followed by Busan in 2021, and Ulsan in 2022.

Since June, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam have jointly recruited nationwide applicants. A total of 218 teams applied, recording a high competition rate of 16 to 1.

Subsequently, preliminary screening was conducted by the Ulsan Creative Economy Innovation Center, followed by education and integrated finals at the Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center, selecting a final 14 teams (2 grand prize winners, 6 excellence awards, 6 encouragement awards).

The grand prizes were awarded to Teampleback Co., Ltd. (CEO Lee Jin-hee), which presented an elementary writing AI education platform in the startup company category, and Share & Service Co., Ltd. (CEO Choi Hee-eun), which submitted an idea for a portable respiratory rehabilitation medical device in the pre-startup category. Both received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award along with prize money of 10 million KRW.

Six teams, including Tyroscope Co., Ltd. (CEO Park Jae-min), which developed a smart care system for thyroid dysfunction, received the excellence award along with metropolitan local government awards and prize money totaling 7 million KRW. Six teams, including Linkflix (CEO Kim Du-il), which developed an eco-friendly biodegradable bio-adhesive, received the encouragement award along with the Small and Medium Venture Business Administration Commissioner’s Award and prize money of 4 million KRW. Award-winning teams will also receive various benefits such as commercialization support, investment support, and linkage support along with the awards.

After the award ceremony, Google Korea’s Deputy General Manager Cho Yong-min will give a special lecture on the theme ‘Startup Ecosystem and the Role of Local Governments for Revitalizing Startups in the Southeast Region.’ There will also be a presentation session by the award-winning teams, booth exhibitions, and investment consultations.

Park Seong-hoon, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Busan, said, “This is a startup revitalization project promoted through cooperation in the Southeast region. To respond to the startup investment environment concentrated in the metropolitan area, the Southeast region must unite to create a startup ecosystem to secure national balanced development and competitiveness.”

Deputy Mayor Park added, “We will activate an innovation startup ecosystem centered in the Southeast region to create a foundation where entrepreneurs and investors gather in the Southeast region and can give birth to unicorn companies.”