Innovation for Revitalizing the Local Startup Ecosystem
Hub Expected to Serve as a Forward Base for Startups
Jinju City in Gyeongnam held an opening ceremony for the 'Jinju Startup Support Center' on the 12th, attended by Mayor Cho Kyu-il, provincial and city council members, the president of Gyeongsang National University, related startup support organizations, entrepreneurs, and about 80 citizens.
The Jinju Startup Support Center (hereinafter referred to as the Center) is located within Sangpyeong Industrial Complex and consists of 30 startup incubation offices, conference rooms, co-working spaces, an operations office, and a management office. By centralizing facilities for startup residency, education, communication, networking, and relaxation, the Center is expected to become a one-stop support hub for discovering and nurturing local startups.
In addition, by discovering and fostering promising innovative (preliminary) startups in the region and supporting their early growth stages, the Center will activate the local startup ecosystem through industry-academia-government collaboration, establishing itself as a forward base and hub for innovative startups in Jinju City.
Currently, 16 startups selected through a recruitment announcement in July have moved into the Center, and various startup support programs such as education, consulting, and business funding are being promoted for seven companies from the Jinju Startup Academy and six one-person startups.
Going forward, the Center plans to play a priming role in enabling startups to thrive even more actively in Jinju, the capital of K-entrepreneurship, by promoting a variety of startup support programs such as operating the Jinju Startup Academy, fostering one-person creative enterprises, establishing a parent fund, supporting local creators, and forming a corporate growth support group.
Mayor Cho stated, "The Jinju Startup Support Center will encourage the diverse challenges of early-stage entrepreneurs, overcome obstacles together, and support their growth, so that Jinju can become the mecca of startups. We will do our best."
Meanwhile, the Innovation Support Center and Complex Culture Center, where the Center is located within Sangpyeong Industrial Complex, were established in March 2019 with a total project cost of 18 billion KRW, consisting of one underground floor and four above-ground floors. On the first floor of the Innovation Support Center is the Digital Integrated Trade Support Center (Dexter), which assists domestic SMEs in expanding overseas. The Complex Culture Center houses cultural and sports facilities such as a convention hall, GX room, fitness room, and program rooms for workers of Sangpyeong Industrial Complex and citizens, which have received a great response from the public.
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