Election of VC Association President, First Ever Contested Race... February Board Meeting in Focus

Competition Between DSC Investment's Yoon Geon-su and K-Net Investment's Kim Dae-young
First Election Race Since the Association's Establishment in 1989

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Interest is heating up over the next chairman of the Korea Venture Capital Association. Since the association's establishment in 1989, this is the first time that two candidates have emerged to compete. The 40 board members are expected to elect the next chairman at the board meeting, possibly as early as next month.

The Venture Capital Association's Chairman Recommendation Committee recently held its second meeting and recommended both Kim Daeyoung, CEO of Knet Investment Partners, and Yoon Geonsu, CEO of DSC Investment, as qualified candidates. With all recommendation committee members present, both candidates were unanimously recommended to the board without any priority ranking.

Following this decision by the recommendation committee, the final candidate will be decided at the board meeting on the 7th of next month. More member companies participate in this meeting than in the recommendation committee, which consists of one chairman, 11 vice-chairmen, and one auditor. The association's board has a total of 42 members. Excluding Kim Daeyoung, who currently serves as vice-chairman, and Yoon Geonsu, who serves as auditor, 40 members will decide the candidate.

At present, it is likely that the final decision will be made at the board meeting, but if support for the two candidates is sharply divided, a vote may take place. More than 200 VC association member companies would all participate in the vote to directly elect the chairman. The regular general meeting is scheduled for the 17th of next month. The recommendation committee is reportedly advising candidates to refrain from official activities such as announcing pledges before the board meeting to prevent overheating during the election process.

Candidate Yoon founded DSC Investment, an independent VC, in 2012. DSC Investment surpassed 1 trillion KRW in assets under management (AUM) within 10 years using only venture funds, excluding private equity funds. It has been recognized for its venture investment capabilities by discovering early-stage domestic and international unicorn companies (unlisted companies valued at over 1 trillion KRW) such as Zigbang, Musinsa, Kurly, Dunamu, RIDI, Moloco, and Kong Studio.

Candidate Kim established Knet Investment Partners, an LLC-type VC, in 2008. From the early stages, Knet Investment Partners discovered Krafton and supported it until it grew into a unicorn company with the success of "Battlegrounds."

If elected as the 15th chairman, the candidate will lead South Korea's venture capital industry for the next two years.