Mokpo City, 'Youth Startup Support Project' Achieves Remarkable Results

Employment up 137%, Sales up 173%, Intellectual Property Rights up 178%

Mokpo City in Jeonnam recently announced on the 26th that it held the final evaluation and performance report meeting for the ‘4th Industrial Revolution Utilization Youth Startup Support Contest Project.’

The ‘4th Industrial Revolution Utilization Youth Startup Support Project,’ conducted over two years last year and this year, aims to foster startup companies and support practical business activities by discovering and supporting commercialization of young (prospective) entrepreneurs with excellent ideas in the 4th industrial sector to attract young population and create jobs in Mokpo. The project was entrusted to and carried out by the Jeonnam Knowledge Center of Jeonnam Technopark.

Mokpo City held the final evaluation and performance report meeting for the 4th Industrial Revolution Utilization Youth Startup Support Contest over two days from the 21st to the 22nd. Photo by Mokpo City

In the first year last year, 8 companies participated, and among them, 4 companies were finally selected as this year’s project recipients, receiving an annual project fund of 70 million KRW per company.

The final evaluation and performance report meeting was held with the participation of the 4 selected startup support companies, evaluation committee members, and operating committee members to review the project results of each supported company, share excellent cases such as new job creation, new product development, sales (including exports) growth, certification acquisition, and other linkages, and share core achievements.

Compared to the project goals, employment increased by 137%, sales (including exports) by 173%, intellectual property acquisition by 178%, certification acquisition by 115%, and other linkages by 266%, achieving remarkable results far exceeding all management indicators.

Additionally, further achievements were secured, including 5 export cases to China, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Indonesia, 5 cases of market development, and 7 MOUs signed.

The young company representatives who participated in the project said, “We had ideas but could not start a business due to lack of initial capital, but this project promoted by the city was a great help,” and pledged, “We will use the city’s support as a starting point to grow into a company representing the region.”

Mayor Park Hong-ryul said, “The core competitiveness of startups and early-stage small and medium enterprises is intellectual property,” and added, “I hope you continue to challenge and learn without stopping for continuous growth and develop into a thriving company.”