Innovation Venture Industry New Year's Meeting Held: "Leap Toward Becoming a Top Four Global Venture Powerhouse"

Korea Women Venture Association, Korea Venture Business Association, Korea Venture Capital Association
Korea Early Stage Investment Accelerator Association, Korea Startup Forum
'2026 Innovation Venture Industry New Year's Meeting'

On January 22, five organizations-the Korea Women Venture Association, the Korea Venture Business Association, the Korea Venture Capital Association, the Korea Early Stage Investment Accelerator Association, and the Korea Startup Forum-jointly hosted the '2026 Innovation Venture Industry New Year's Meeting' at El Tower.

Celebrating the Year of Byeong-o, the event was held under the theme, 'Innovation Ventures Taking a Leap Toward Becoming a Top Four Global Venture Powerhouse.' Han Sung-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, along with over 200 venture business leaders and stakeholders, attended the event and pledged mutual cooperation.

At the '2026 Innovation Venture Industry New Year's Meeting' held at El Tower on the 22nd, Han Sung-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is delivering a congratulatory speech.

The event, held under the slogan 'Innovative Ventures, Growing Korea!', featured a New Year's greeting from Sung Misook, President of the Korea Women Venture Association, a congratulatory speech by Han Sung-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, a keynote on the New Year's vision for innovation ventures, a New Year's ceremony, and networking sessions.

In her New Year's address, President Sung Misook stated, "In line with the government's strategy to become one of the world's top four venture powerhouses, we will lead Korea's economic leap forward by leveraging the diversity of the innovation venture ecosystem." She emphasized, "We will strengthen our role as a bridge for communication between the government and the business sector so that policies and on-the-ground efforts are organically connected to deliver tangible results. We will focus all our capabilities on enabling innovation-driven entrepreneurs to take pride in their challenges and create new history."

During the 'Innovation Venture New Year's Vision Keynote,' the heads of the co-hosting organizations took the stage to present each association's core strategies and independent action plans for Korea's leap to become a top four global venture powerhouse, expressing strong commitment to innovative growth.

Song Byungjun, President of the Korea Venture Business Association, remarked, "We are in an era where the achievements of Korea's ventures directly translate into national competitiveness. By expanding venture financing and supporting scaling up, we will enhance on-site execution so that promising ventures can gain global competitiveness. We will also help create a virtuous cycle of investment and growth to support Korea's rise as a top four venture powerhouse."

Kim Hakkyun, President of the Korea Venture Capital Association, stated, "By expanding investment resources and improving exit conditions, we will build an efficient innovation ecosystem where investment leads to venture growth and growth leads back to investment. We will use policy finance as a catalyst to attract private capital, create funds to revitalize the KOSDAQ market, and activate M&A and secondary markets to normalize the virtuous investment cycle."

Jeon Hwaseong, President of the Korea Early Stage Investment Accelerator Association, said, "As K-Startups are gaining global attention, accelerators that support the launch and growth of ultra-early-stage startups will become the core of a sustainable startup ecosystem. We will lead a healthy startup ecosystem by promoting investment diversity, improving regulations, and enhancing the environment for early-stage investment exits."

Han Sangwoo, President of the Korea Startup Forum, commented, "2026 is a pivotal year where execution and results matter more than ever. The Korea Startup Forum will serve as a partner in designing national strategies for the global AX era, becoming a platform that enables startups to demonstrate AI transformation and global expansion in the field." He added, "We will strengthen our role in connecting policy, industry, and global markets so that entrepreneurship becomes Korea's next growth engine, not just the choice of a few."

Kim Hyoi, CEO of Inertia and one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 leaders, gave a presentation as a representative of venture companies on the topic of global partnerships and overseas expansion strategies in the bio and eco-friendly materials sectors. CEO Kim presented a concrete roadmap for women-led ventures to achieve sustainable growth and global scaling up.