Minister Kwon Chil-seung: "SMBA is also in the startup phase... We will resolve policy mismatches"

First Venture Industry Association Chair Meeting Since Inauguration... Proposals for 'Expansion of Private Investment and TIPS Improvement Measures'

On the afternoon of the 4th, at the Korea Venture Capital Association in the VR Building, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, and heads of related organizations discussed current issues in the venture industry during the 'Minister of SMEs and Startups - Venture Industry Association Heads Meeting.' Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] On the 4th, Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, held his first meeting with the heads of venture industry associations since taking office at the Venture Capital Association, listening to voices from the field and communicating about future policy directions.

The meeting was attended by Kang Sam-gwon, newly appointed Chairman of the Venture Business Association, Kim Bun-hee, newly appointed Chairwoman of the Women’s Venture Association, Ji Seong-bae, newly appointed Chairman of the Venture Capital Association, Lee Jun-bae, Chairman of the Accelerator Association, and Go Young-ha, Chairman of the Angel Investment Association.

At the meeting, Minister Kwon congratulated the new association heads on their appointments and emphasized, “In 2019, total employment in venture companies was 804,000, exceeding that of the four major conglomerates, and during the same period, 117,000 new jobs were created, which is 5.6 times the 21,000 jobs created by the four major groups.”

Kang Sam-gwon, Chairman of the Venture Business Association who attended the meeting, said, “The venture industry is currently experiencing a second venture boom, and it is an important time to nurture startups well and scale them up,” adding, “To scale up, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups should more actively support venture companies’ exports, and in this process, support for the globalization of export companies should be expanded.”

Kim Bun-hee, Chairwoman of the Korea Women’s Venture Association, stated, “With the three keywords of challenge, innovation, and coexistence, we will strive to create an environment that can solve labor-related women’s issues amid the reality of population decline,” and added, “In a situation where policy support to expand investment in women’s ventures is increasingly necessary, I propose the establishment of a ‘Global Women Venture Innovation Center.’”

Go Young-ha, Chairman of the Angel Investment Association, proposed designing a ‘TIPS 2.0’ policy. Chairman Go said, “To produce 1,000 TIPS companies by 2025, the number of TIPS operators must increase to about twice the current level,” emphasizing, “The qualification for TIPS operators should not be limited to accelerators but expanded to various market participants such as large corporations and public enterprises.”

In response, Minister Kwon said, “‘TIPS 2.0’ will be maintained as a policy brand of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups,” and added, “We will prepare a reform plan for the TIPS system and establish a plan to implement it by 2025.”

Minister Kwon also stated, “From 2015 to last year, the corporate value of companies that attracted venture investment was about 172.9 trillion won, ranking second on the KOSPI after Samsung Electronics and accounting for about 44.8% of the KOSDAQ market capitalization, establishing venture companies as a main pillar of our economy,” and urged, “As your roles are important to spreading these achievements in the future, active cooperation and participation from the venture industry are necessary.”