Chairman Choi Jung-woo: "We Will Revitalize Youth Employment and Local Economy Through Venture Support"

POSCO Holds 10th Anniversary Venture Investment Event
Discovered Over 400 Ventures in 10 Years Through Idea Marketplace (IMP)
Announces IMP Future Vision Linked to Group's New Growth Strategy

POSCO Chairman Choi Jung-woo is giving a greeting at the 'Youth Hope ON Project' meeting held on the 10th at the POSCO Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] On the 18th, POSCO held the POSCO Idea Marketplace (IMP) 10th Anniversary event at the Pohang Change-up Ground and announced its vision for the next 10 years of IMP.

At the event, Choi Jeong-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group, stated, "IMP, which has established itself as a gateway for Korea's leading venture companies, will continue to be utilized as a channel for discovering new growth businesses for POSCO Group's future." He added, "Going forward, as a leader driving youth job creation and regional economic revitalization, we will nurture venture companies with a frontier spirit based on challenge and creativity from 'good companies to great companies (Good To Great)' to create 'another POSCO.'"

At the event, POSCO also announced the 'Good To Great' vision, reflecting its commitment to revitalizing the startup ecosystem for the next 10 years.

Over the past decade, POSCO has selected 411 promising venture companies through IMP and directly invested 21.5 billion KRW in 132 companies. Among them, about 53 companies were linked to 'TIPS,' a private investment-led technology startup support program, to ensure continuous investment. The value of venture companies invested in by POSCO has now reached approximately 2 trillion KRW, establishing IMP as Korea's representative venture company development program.

Notably, NeoFect, a global healthcare company originating from IMP, was listed on KOSDAQ in 2018 and has grown into a company with a market capitalization of about 60 billion KRW. Last year, 'Payhere,' selected as an IMP company, successfully launched a mobile POS-based smart store management system and secured over 3,200 franchise stores, achieving early market establishment.

Going forward, POSCO plans to select and nurture venture companies centered on ▲ eco-friendly future materials ▲ eco-friendly infrastructure ▲ seed business groups in line with the group’s business structure transition to an 'eco-friendly material specialist maker,' including expanding secondary battery materials and hydrogen businesses. POSCO will also actively support overseas expansion. Through this, POSCO aims to foster global unicorn companies and NASDAQ-listed companies within the next 10 years as future growth engines of the POSCO Group.

Meanwhile, to revitalize the venture ecosystem, POSCO has established a full-cycle virtuous 'venture platform' and supported commercialization such as startup incubation, product development, and market expansion to enhance the value of venture companies. It has also invested throughout the entire cycle from startup to listing through venture fund formation, including the IMP Fund, the first venture investment association formed by an accelerator in Korea.