Jinju Mayor Cho Kyu-il Holds 'Date with Citizens' with Startup Support Center Resident Companies

Meeting Startup Entrepreneurs to Discuss Creating a Startup Ecosystem and Jinju's Future Growth Strategies

The city of Jinju, Gyeongnam announced on the 11th that Mayor Jo Kyu-il held a "Date with Citizens" event in September with around 10 representatives from companies residing in the Jinju Startup Support Center at the coworking space on the 2nd floor of the center.

The event was organized to share various issues faced by the CEOs of companies residing in the Jinju Startup Support Center, which opened on the 12th of last month, and to discuss the direction of support from the city. The resident entrepreneurs candidly shared their experiences and difficulties, and proposed various ideas for future cooperation with the city of Jinju.

Mayor Jo Kyuil group photo with about 10 representatives of tenant companies at the Startup Support Center during the September date with citizens.

The city of Jinju is making every effort to create a "business-friendly city," ranging from direct support for corporate growth to institutional improvements. The city has expanded the SME Promotion Fund loan support, previously limited to the manufacturing industry, to include the software industry, and is also implementing various customized support policies such as improving the working environment of SMEs, supporting the use of technology development equipment, and promoting the commercialization of ceramic convergence technologies.

One of the resident entrepreneurs who attended the event said, "I wanted to start a business, but I was at a loss as to where to begin due to issues such as space and funding. I am very happy to have been selected as a resident company through the recruitment process after the city opened the Startup Support Center. I hope the city will continue to provide generous administrative support so that startup companies can grow stably in the future."

In response, Mayor Jo said, "The success of startup companies is the future growth engine of Jinju. I know well that the journey of entrepreneurship is never easy, and there will be many difficulties and obstacles, but I believe your passion and challenges will ultimately lead to great achievements. Our city will continue to prepare various support measures to help you overcome difficulties and achieve growth."

The Jinju Startup Support Center, the venue for the event, is located in the Sangpyeong General Industrial Complex and consists of 30 resident training rooms, as well as meeting rooms, a coworking space (shared office), an operations office, and a management office.

Currently, 16 startup companies from various fields are residing in the center, and it is expected to serve as a hub for innovative startups in Jinju by providing integrated support from early-stage startup education, consulting, and business funding to industry-academia collaboration.