The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that, together with the Seoul Olympic Memorial National Sports Promotion Corporation, it will open the expanded and reorganized 'Sports Korea Lab (SKL)'?formerly the 'Comprehensive Sports Industry Support Center'?at Seoul Olympic Park at 2 p.m. on the 19th.
Sports Korea Lab is a comprehensive support platform for the sports industry. It provides integrated support for sports companies including office space, exhibition and experience areas, incubation programs, job information, and technology development. It consists of a total of four buildings: two corporate support centers and two exhibition experience centers, covering a total area of 6,220㎡.
There are four major differences between Sports Korea Lab and the previous Comprehensive Sports Industry Support Center.
First, the corporate office space to support the stable growth of startup companies has been significantly expanded from 24 to 44 units. Additionally, a shared office space with 54 seats has been newly established, allowing small startups to freely utilize workspaces. To support the practical growth of companies, customized incubation programs tailored to each company?covering legal, accounting, marketing, and investment attraction?are operated year-round.
Sports Korea Lab Dain Enterprise Occupancy Space [Photo provided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]
Second, to facilitate smooth connections between sports companies and job seekers, the 'Sports Industry Job Center' has been relocated within the corporate support center. With this relocation, the job center’s functions have been strengthened, and specialized programs for resident companies have been expanded, including operating company introduction booths at job fairs and offering one-day trial experiences of resident companies for job seekers.
Third, the linkage between the Sports Korea Lab project and other corporate support projects has been reinforced to establish a systematic 'growth ladder' that enables startup companies to grow continuously. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism grants priority residency rights at Sports Korea Lab to companies that achieve excellent results in the Sports Promotion Corporation’s startup idea contest. Furthermore, if resident companies demonstrate achievements such as increased sales and job creation, they will receive additional points when applying for future leading company support projects.
Fourth, the Ministry plans to make the exhibition experience center a more attractive open space through various events. To this end, it will hold lectures and fan meetings with sports stars and operate pop-up stores to promote excellent companies’ products. Special exhibitions introducing innovative products and technologies of resident companies will also be held regularly to actively support sports companies in developing sales channels and enhancing brand awareness.
Detailed information about Sports Korea Lab and the Sports Promotion Corporation’s support projects for sports companies can be obtained through the call center and website.
A policy official from the Ministry stated, "Following the 'Content Korea Lab' in 2014 and the 'Art Korea Lab' in 2023, we opened the 'Sports Korea Lab' in 2025 to support the startup and growth of sports companies." He added, "The Ministry plans to actively support raising the sports industry sales from 81 trillion won in 2023 to 105 trillion won by 2028, enabling the sports industry to become a future growth engine for the Republic of Korea."
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