Last Year, Domestic Corporate Venture Capital Invested 2.1 Trillion Won

Government-Corporate Venture Capitalists Convene for Policy Discussion
2nd Quarter Corporate Venture Capital Council Regular Meeting Held

Last year, domestic Corporate Venture Capitals (CVCs) in South Korea invested approximately 2.1 trillion KRW.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Fair Trade Commission announced on the 27th that they attended the 2nd quarter regular meeting of the CVC Council under the Korea Venture Capital Association to discuss the current status and policy directions of domestic CVCs. A CVC is a venture capital established and owned by a company to invest in independent ventures and startups for strategic purposes.

At the meeting, the current status of CVCs and investment performance in 2023, analyzed by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Fair Trade Commission, were disclosed. As of last year, among 359 venture capital firms in South Korea, about 98 were identified as CVCs. Among these, 13 CVCs were owned by general holding companies in accordance with Article 20 of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act.

Additionally, the 2.1 trillion KRW invested by domestic CVCs last year accounted for about 19% of the total venture investment amount of 10.9 trillion KRW during the same period. The investment amount by general holding company CVCs was recorded at 176.4 billion KRW.

During the meeting, active discussions took place between industry representatives, including Heo Jun-nyeong, CEO of GS Ventures and chairman of the CVC Council, and officials from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Fair Trade Commission regarding policies to revitalize CVCs, such as regulatory easing.

Kim Jun-sik, Managing Director (CIO) of CJ Investment, said, “We hope that various revitalization measures will be promoted through this CVC Council,” adding, “Through this, CVCs can contribute to the development of domestic small and venture companies.”

Kim Bong-deok, Venture Policy Officer at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “Thanks to the general holding company CVC system implemented at the end of 2021, CVCs are settling into the venture investment market, but active government roles are necessary for full revitalization.” He added, “Going forward, the government will regularize statistics on the status of CVCs on a semi-annual basis and will do its best to expand and enhance the global CVC conference held last November to make it a more substantial event.”

Kim, the Venture Policy Officer, continued, “The government plans to strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation to ensure that policy tasks such as CVC system improvements proposed by the CVC industry yield tangible results.”