Gwangmyeong City Startup Support Achieves Continued Growth in Employment and Investment

Secured 40 Intellectual Property Rights... Leading to Technology Exports
Mayor Seungwon Park: "Building a Sustainable Ecosystem Through Full-Cycle Support"

The startup support policies of Gwangmyeong City, Gyeonggi Province, have been achieving a series of results, including job creation and attracting investment.

According to Gwangmyeong City on December 2, a total of 20 companies participated in the "Startup Fund Support Project" implemented this year, and these companies have achieved concrete results in key indicators such as employment, investment attraction, and securing intellectual property rights.

Seungwon Park, Mayor of Gwangmyeong (left), attended the "Gwangmyeong Startup Festival" held last year at Gwangmyeong Speedom and is experiencing products at the participating companies' booths. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

This project is designed to discover companies with startup items in advanced technology and eco-friendly sectors that align with the future-oriented urban environment, providing up to 25 million won in business funds per company. In March this year, the city selected 10 teams, and then, by securing additional funding through a supplementary budget, expanded the number of supported companies to 20.

The total number of employees at these supported companies increased by 25%, from 56 to 70. Despite the economic downturn, these companies continued to expand their workforce, thereby contributing to local job creation.

There have also been continuous achievements in attracting private investment. This year, three companies secured a total of 2.35 billion won in investments, establishing a foundation for their growth. Wooyeon Company, which developed "Pet Pass," an AI-based pet access authentication system, surpassed 500,000 cumulative service users and successfully attracted a 2.1 billion won investment from FirstOn Investment Association in March.

Custom, which developed a modular style TV allowing users to choose frame designs according to their preferences, was also selected for the Small Enterprise and Market Service's private investment-linked matching loan (LIPS) program and secured 150 million won in investment. Minseong Co., Ltd. was selected as a seed investment company by Primer for its integrated IoT unmanned coffee machine product, successfully attracting an investment of 100 million won.

The number of intellectual property rights held by these companies more than doubled, increasing from 19 to 40 (including applications filed this year). In particular, Future Energy Holdings achieved overseas expansion results, such as securing an export contract in Europe for its pyrolysis oil technology from waste plastics.

The reason behind the success of the city's startup support projects is attributed to not only supporting the initial startup process but also enabling companies to achieve sustainable growth.

In particular, the city is enhancing the practical capabilities of companies through the "Innovative Startup Acceleration Support Project," which includes: ▲ one-on-one customized mentoring by experts ▲ practical business capability enhancement programs ▲ opportunities for investor networking and investment pitching ▲ support for startup consortium activities ▲ and the Startup Early Bird Conference.

The city is also actively supporting market expansion. By connecting startups with major local distribution networks such as Costco and providing opportunities for product sales and promotion, Gwangmyeong City continues to lower market entry barriers for startups.

In June, the city was selected for the "Designated Startup Innovation Space" project organized by Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Business & Science Accelerator, securing 80 million won in startup activation funds and gaining access to the accelerator's startup support network. Through this, four companies-ZeroGTech, Monit, AnyBiome, and Crescent-participated in Gyeonggi Province's overseas expansion support program (Open Ground), laying the groundwork for market expansion.

Seungwon Park, Mayor of Gwangmyeong, stated, "We are focusing on creating an ecosystem where companies can continue to grow, going beyond simple startup support," adding, "Going forward, we will nurture startups that will drive regional innovation through comprehensive growth support across all stages, including business funding, capability enhancement, market development, and global expansion."