The Korea Startup Forum (hereafter referred to as KOSPO) announced on the 16th that it held a ‘Policy Discussion for Strengthening Startup Global Competitiveness’ in the 2nd Small Conference Room of the National Assembly Members’ Hall on the 15th.
This discussion, co-hosted by Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Kim Dong-ah, Park Sang-hyeok, and Jang Cheol-min and co-hosted by COSP, the Startup & Entrepreneurship Promotion Agency, the Creative Economy Innovation Center Council, and PEN Ventures Korea, was attended by approximately 100 startup officials, investment institutions, policymakers, and experts, as well as Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Kim Dong-ah and Lee Eun-ju. The participants focused on discussing the globalization of the domestic startup ecosystem, inbound and outbound policies, and ways to improve laws and systems.
In her congratulatory address, Jeong Ji-eun, Policy Committee Chairperson of the Korea Startup Forum (CEO of CODIT), said, “As the startup ecosystem is emerging as a key asset of national strategy around the world, Korea also urgently needs to establish effective policies to foster startups with global competitiveness.” Rep. Kim Dong-ah emphasized, “The startup industry is a new driving force for the growth of the Republic of Korea.” Reps. Park Sang-hyeok and Jang Cheol-min delivered congratulatory addresses in writing based on the importance of supporting global expansion and easing entry barriers. Rep. Lee Un-ju said, “We will work to ease regulations for startup funding and create an innovative environment.” Yoo Jong-pil, President of the Korea Institute for Startups and Entrepreneurship Development, said, “We will actively support Korean startups to grow into global unicorns.” Kang Young-jae, Chairman of the National Council of Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation, said, “We need to support the revitalization of the regional startup ecosystem by reflecting key elements such as the visa system.”
Park Dae-hee, CEO of the Daejeon Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, who was the first to present, emphasized, “Korea also needs an inbound strategy that links regulatory and institutional improvements in line with global standards, the inflow of high-quality talent, expansion of venture investment, and the creation of a balanced regional ecosystem.” He also said, “We need to create a structure in which regional startup and innovation clusters can attract global capital and companies.” He mentioned the importance of a pan-governmental policy shift, such as the enactment of a law to support foreign startups, the creation of a regional-based global fund, and innovation in the startup immigrant visa system, and added, “In order for the Korean startup ecosystem to secure global competitiveness, a three-dimensional approach that integrates talent, capital, regions, and policies is necessary.”
Next, in the presentation by Attorney Kim Seong-hoon, head attorney of Mission Law Firm, a plan to create a global expansion environment for domestic startups centered on outbound policies was presented. Attorney Kim said, “Startup founders are the ones who pioneer the future in a world without borders, and to this end, outbound and inbound are not separate but connected strategies.” He emphasized, “In order to support global expansion, it is necessary to comprehensively reorganize domestic systems such as the existing investment, contract, and legal systems in line with the cross-border company strategy.” He also said, “In addition to establishing investment and governance structures that meet global standards, customized support and localization strategies by industry and region should be implemented in parallel so that Korean startups can take root in local markets.”
In the general discussion, each panelist exchanged opinions under the guidance of Jeong Ji-eun, the head of the Korea Center for International Finance Policy. Lee Han-bin, CEO of Seoul Robotics, a B2B autonomous driving company that has advanced into Germany, Japan, and the US, mentioned the realistic limitations faced in the process of advancing into overseas markets, and expressed the difficulty, saying, “It is urgent to reexamine major tasks such as improving regulations related to foreign exchange transactions while attracting global capital investment, overseas listing, and issuing visas to global talent.”
Song Myung-soo, CEO of Penn Ventures Korea, emphasized the importance of policy consistency and long-term goals related to global expansion, and emphasized the expansion of global funds and the establishment of specialized strategies by region and industry. Kim Seong-hoon, managing attorney, proposed improving the investment structure, expanding overseas certification support, strengthening long-term R&D support in the deep tech field, and establishing customized investment and overseas expansion strategies by industry and region for institutional innovation in line with global standards. Park Dae-hee, CEO, suggested new investment models such as the formation of regional industrial clusters and connections between regional mid-sized companies and global capital for realistic approaches to regional specialized industries.
Policy Committee Chairperson Jeong Ji-eun summarized the panelists’ opinions, saying, “Tasks to strengthen global competitiveness, such as attracting foreign investment for startups, securing overseas talent, and reinforcing R&D budgets, should no longer remain as discussions but should lead to concrete implementation.”
In its closing remarks, the Korea Startup Forum stated, “Startups’ global challenge has already begun, so systems and policies must also boldly change to keep pace with it,” and “We will do our part to ensure that current issues on which we have formed a large consensus, such as the need to ease foreign exchange transaction regulations, which were mentioned as obstacles in the process of attracting overseas investment, as well as key tasks such as inbound and outbound fund strategies and solving scale-up bottlenecks, can be implemented as specific policies.”
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