Visit to Ulsan's Public-Private Cooperative Startup Space
Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups emphasized that “a virtuous cycle in which the experience and assets of senior entrepreneurs are passed on to junior startups can further strengthen the local startup ecosystem.” She made this remark while attending the opening ceremony of the Ulsan Startup Hub. Minister Oh added, “The Ulsan Startup Hub is significant as a public-private cooperative innovative startup space created by successful local senior entrepreneurs to nurture junior startups, along with government support.”
On the 11th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that Minister Oh visited Ulsan Metropolitan City to participate in the opening ceremony of the Ulsan Startup Hub and subsequently held a meeting with representatives of startups in the Ulsan area, including tenant companies of the hub. Minister Oh’s visit to Ulsan was arranged to emphasize the virtuous cycle between senior and junior entrepreneurs and to discuss ways to revitalize the local startup ecosystem.
The Ulsan Startup Hub is a startup space located on the 4th to 6th floors of the Jongha Innovation Center, with a total budget of 3.15 billion KRW invested. The Jongha Innovation Center building itself was funded with a total of 53.2 billion KRW, including a 33 billion KRW donation from Lee Ju-yong, chairman of KCC Information & Communication, a successful senior entrepreneur.
After the opening ceremony, Minister Oh held a meeting with six startups based in Ulsan, along with Ulsan City, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and local startup accelerators (ACs), to discuss ways to expand collaboration with local demand companies and address difficulties faced by non-capital region companies.
The six startup representatives attending the meeting had experience collaborating with large corporations and public institutions, reflecting the characteristics of Ulsan’s startup ecosystem based on an industrial cluster centered on large corporations. The attendees mentioned the need to expand practical cooperation with large and medium-sized enterprises, improve systems to create a fair trading environment, and strengthen collaboration with public institutions to support startups in the business-to-government (B2G) sector.
Minister Oh stated, “Ulsan is an industrial city representing South Korea, equipped with the optimal environment for startups and venture companies to grow through collaboration with local demand companies. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will actively support expanding startup collaboration and resolving difficulties related to regulations, funding, and market access faced by local startup companies.”
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