Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Establishes Regional Startup Hub 'Startup Park'

Public Contest for Local Governments and Selection of One Site

On the 19th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it will establish one additional 'Startup Park' in a region, an innovative startup space where entrepreneurs can freely communicate and interact with investors, large corporations, and startup support organizations to grow.

Startup Parks are large-scale startup infrastructures where over 100 local startups, venture companies, and related innovation support organizations can reside and connect in one place. Since 2019, a total of four Startup Parks have been opened or are under development in Incheon Metropolitan City, Daejeon Metropolitan City, Cheonan City in Chungnam, and Gyeongsan City in Gyeongbuk.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Startup Park to be established this year will expand its policy direction from 'startup space composition' to 'regional startup ecosystem foundation' to become a new growth engine for the region, as announced by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups last August.

To this end, it will be developed as a startup cluster linked to future regional industries. It will be classified into urban-type and industrial ecosystem-type according to regional growth conditions, and local governments will lead the planning in a bottom-up manner considering regional characteristics.

The Ministry plans to support young people to work, enjoy, and live nearby so that they can have sufficient growth opportunities in the region. The Startup Park will be developed in connection with the district unit plans of the respective city areas, along with commercial, cultural, and residential facilities.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will continue to cooperate with local governments so that Startup Parks can serve not only as a catalyst for regional industrial growth but also as innovative hubs that prevent the outflow of young populations and drive the local economy.

Eligible applicants for the project are metropolitan local governments, which must apply by forming a consortium with private entities such as startup planners (lead cooperative institutions), universities, research institutes, and companies. Selected local governments will receive 500 million KRW this year for design service costs, and from next year onwards, 12.1 billion KRW for construction costs. Local governments will establish Startup Parks by matching national funds with local funds on a 1:1 basis.