"Failure Is Not the End, but a Process"... SMEs and Small Business Owners Share Restart Success Stories

Lee Sujin, CEO of Yanolja, Delivers Keynote Speech
Investment Competition, Panel Talks, and More Held

An event was held to share the success stories of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners who succeeded in restarting their businesses after failure, and to shift social perceptions regarding companies making a fresh start.

Hansung Sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is touring the site at the '2025 Rechallenge Day' held on the 14th at Raum Art Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Ministry of SMEs and Startups

On the 14th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it held the '2025 Rechallenge Day' event at the Raum Art Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The event was held under the slogan, "Turn Failure into an Asset, RESTART THE SPARK," reflecting the idea of using failure as experience to ignite the spark of a new beginning through rechallenge.

According to industry sources, many of the domestic unicorn companies have experienced rechallenge. However, they face economic and cultural difficulties due to the social perception of being a "failed company."

In light of this, the government is supporting companies restarting their businesses through funding such as restart loans and re-leap funds, business support for discovering new entrepreneurs, and education and mentoring for those restarting. The government has also implemented institutional improvements, such as introducing a credit information blind system and easing requirements for recognizing startups when restarting in the same industry.

The event was held as part of efforts to change social perceptions about rechallenge companies and to spread a culture of taking on new challenges. First, Lee Sujin, CEO of Yanolja, took the stage as the keynote speaker and shared her experience of founding Yanolja and growing it into a global company, based on her own journey of losing all her assets, working as a motel cleaner, and then starting over.

Choi Yongwon, CEO of Paris RoMNB, who spoke on behalf of the SME sector, and Yoo Suyeon, CEO of Btrend, who spoke on behalf of small business owners, also shared their experiences of successfully restarting after closure, receiving encouragement and support from the audience.

At the awards ceremony for meritorious contributors, a total of 22 individuals-including 11 company representatives who contributed to revitalizing rechallenge, 6 employees from support organizations, and 5 winners from the rechallenge best practices contest-received awards: 13 from the Minister of SMEs and Startups, 5 from the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and 4 from heads of rechallenge support organizations.

In addition, the event featured the final round of an investment attraction competition for rechallenge entrepreneurs who advanced through regional preliminaries, a panel talk sharing successful rechallenge know-how, a fireside chat with insights from artificial intelligence (AI) experts, and the first Rechallenge Alumni event, where over 100 rechallenge entrepreneurs and mentors communicated and networked.

At the venue, there were promotional booths showcasing and demonstrating innovative products from outstanding rechallenge companies, as well as legal support and mentoring booths where participants could receive counseling on the entire rechallenge process.

Hansung Sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "Startup failure is not the end, but a process of growth," adding, "The government will serve as a steadfast pacemaker, supporting new possibilities by accepting failure and helping entrepreneurs leverage the experience and assets gained through their journey of challenge."