Jeon Hwa-seong, President of the Accelerator Association, "Strengthening the Status of Accelerators"

CNT Tech CEO Jeon Hwa-seong Appointed as 4th President of Korea Accelerator Association

Jeon Hwa-seong, the newly appointed president of the Korea Accelerator Association, emphasized "strengthening the status of accelerators" as his inaugural message.

The Korea Accelerator Association announced on the 19th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, that Jeon Hwa-seong, CEO of CNT Tech, was inaugurated as the 4th president of the Korea Accelerator Association.

In his inaugural speech, President Jeon stated, “Accelerators must speak with one voice and thereby prove their value,” presenting three key focus areas: strengthening global presence, fostering the domestic startup incubation market and expanding the accelerator mother fund, and integrating with the Early Investment Institutions Association.

Jeon Hwa-seong, the newly appointed president of the Korea Accelerator Association, is speaking at the inauguration ceremony held on the 19th.

He said, “We need to establish an integrated hub for Korean accelerators’ overseas expansion and strengthen promotion at the association level,” adding, “We will expand bidding opportunities in the overseas startup incubation market by enhancing cooperation with major overseas startup incubation organizations.”

He also proposed the outsourcing of startup incubation support projects by ministries such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries based on their expertise to eliminate inefficiencies in operation methods and open the market to more accelerators.

President Jeon further emphasized the need to raise the association’s status and unify the industry’s voice through integration with the Early Investment Institutions Association. After the association’s integration, he stated that the startup planner certification tasks should be transferred from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and that new certifications and refresher training should be strengthened to elevate the industry’s status and standards. He also shared plans to secure association spaces of over 300 pyeong in the metropolitan area, including large lecture halls, and to organize subcommittees.

President Jeon said, “In the United States, which has the world’s most advanced startup ecosystem, global accelerators such as Y Combinator, Plug and Play, Techstars, and 500 Startups nurture and invest in thousands of startups annually,” adding, “With 10 years of history, the Korean accelerator industry is also competitive in the global market, so we will unite our strength and act strategically.”

Meanwhile, the Korea Accelerator Association is a legally incorporated organization officially approved by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in December 2017, with a total of 210 member companies registered as of February 2024.