The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced that on the 15th (Tuesday, local time), it visited the United States and held the ‘Global Fund Formation Ceremony,’ the ‘Korean Entrepreneurs’ Federation (UKF)-Korea Venture Investment MOU Signing Ceremony,’ and the ‘Northern California SME Support Council’ meeting at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in San Francisco.
The event was attended by about 40 people, including Minister Oh Young-joo, Consul General Lim Jeong-taek, Korean and American venture capitalists, Korean related organizations, and event officials.
The main event contents are as follows.
◆ Global Fund Formation Ceremony
The global fund establishment ceremony was held under the attendance of Minister Oh Young-joo, with the representatives of the three US venture capital firms selected as global fund management companies in 2024 and Shin Sang-han, Vice President of Korea Venture Investment, the mother fund management organization, signing the fund establishment document.
The three funds established today total a total of 200 million dollars (292.6 billion won), of which at least 30 million dollars will be invested in Korean companies. The global fund established this time is expected to play a major role not only in investing in startups from both countries, but also in exchanges and cooperation between the venture investment ecosystems of both countries.
The US venture capitals that participated in the inauguration ceremony are Patron Management, Third Prime Capital, and ACVC Partners. They are mid-sized US investment firms that focus on investing in deep tech industries such as AI and robots, and are also very interested in investing in Korean startups.
After the fund formation ceremony, Brian Cho, CEO of Patron Management, expressed his desire to invest in Korean startups, saying, “Korean startups have excellent technological prowess and external competitiveness, centered on cutting-edge industries, so there are many attractive startups with high investment value.”
Last year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups selected 15 venture capitals from around the world as global fund management companies and invested 150 billion won from Korea Venture Investment. Following Singapore and Japan last year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a global fund formation ceremony and related events in the United States.
As of February 25, the Global Fund has raised a total of 73 funds worth over 12 trillion won and invested over 1.3 trillion won in 642 Korean companies, contributing greatly to attracting investment and global expansion of Korean venture and startups.
◆ UKF-Korea Venture Investment MOU Signing Ceremony
After the Global Fund establishment ceremony, UKF and Korea Venture Investment signed an MOU for cooperation to support Korean ventures and startups entering the US market.
UKF is an investor and startup group formed voluntarily by Korean-American investors and startups in August 2024, and consists of about 1,500 members. Since last year, it has held the 'UKF 82 Startup Summit' in Silicon Valley in the first half of each year and in New York in the second half, acting as a bridge between Korean companies, local Korean investors, and businesspeople.
The MOU was signed by UKF Director Kim Gwang-rok and Korea Venture Investment Vice President Shin Sang-han, and its main contents include the two organizations cooperating to support Korean ventures and startups entering the U.S. market, and actively supporting mutual exchanges and cooperation between companies and investors from both countries.
Through this MOU, Korean ventures and startups are expected to receive great help in attracting investment, cooperating with American companies in technology, and advancing into the local market through the Korean network in the United States.
Starting this year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to use the UKF 82 Startup Summit as a stage for Korean venture and startups to advance into the U.S. market by linking it with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ K-Global Star program and other programs, and to support Korean investors to attend the summit and engage in exchanges and cooperation with local investors and businesspeople.
Minister Oh Young-joo said in his congratulatory remarks, “Korean companies are being recognized worldwide for their technological prowess and creativity, as evidenced by the 151 companies that won 208 innovation awards at this year’s CES.” He added, “The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will actively support global investment attraction by creating a global fund worth more than 1 trillion won every year to enable our ventures and startups to successfully advance into the global market, and will actively connect our companies to overseas networks such as UKF.”
◆ Northern California Small Business Support Council
The 'Northern California Small and Medium Venture Business Support Council', which supports our companies' advancement into the U.S. market, was also held in succession at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in San Francisco.
The Small and Medium Venture Business Support Council is established and operated in 25 overseas diplomatic missions in regions where our companies are actively expanding into the market to support our small and medium venture businesses in securing overseas expansion bases and resolving local difficulties based on the business agreement signed between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April of last year.
The Consulate General in San Francisco has also been holding quarterly meetings since its first meeting in April of last year, communicating frequently with local companies and public institutions, resolving 14 issues and providing 49 pieces of information, and has continued to support not only resolving issues for companies advancing into San Francisco but also local networking.
In this meeting, the achievements of the support council were reviewed and future plans were discussed, and local startups that are actually receiving help from the council also participated and had time to freely exchange opinions on strategies for entering San Francisco and difficulties.
Minister Oh Young-joo said, “San Francisco, the center of global startups, is a region that Korean startups also hope to enter, and I hope that the Northern California Small Business Support Council will continue to play a key role in helping our companies advance into the region and supporting local companies,” and added, “I hope that businesspeople will also come to the council at any time if they encounter any difficulties.”
Meanwhile, Minister Oh arrived in San Francisco on the morning of the 15th (Tuesday, local time) and as his first schedule, he visited the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Silicon Valley integrated base scheduled to open in the second half of this year in accordance with the 'Advanced Venture Investment Market Leap Forward Plan' announced in October of last year to check the progress.
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