The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) held the 'K-Beauty Fund Launch Ceremony and Global Insight Conference' on the 10th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul with approximately 400 beauty SMEs and venture companies in attendance.
In July of last year, the government announced the creation of a public-private joint 'K-Beauty Fund' as a key policy task to help the cosmetics industry, which is the number one export item for small and medium-sized enterprises, leap to the global top level through the 'Measures to Strengthen the Global Competitiveness of K-Beauty SMEs and Venture Companies'.
The launching ceremony on this day was a place to declare the full-scale establishment of the 'K-Beauty Fund', and was attended by major investors in the fund, including Korea Kolmar CEO Choi Hyun-gyu and Cosmax Vice President Shin Yoon-seo.
The 'K-Beauty Fund' is the first beauty-only venture fund created by the public and private sectors. It is a fund jointly invested by Cosmax, Korea Kolmar, and Mother Fund that focuses on investing in K-beauty brands and beauty tech startups. It will be raised with a total of 40 billion won over 25 years, and will focus on investing in the entire cosmetics value chain, including K-beauty brands and beauty tech startups.
Minister Oh Young-joo said, “With world-class manufacturing and production capabilities and strong global marketing, domestic cosmetics achieved $6.8 billion in cosmetics exports from small and medium-sized enterprises last year, surpassing $6 billion for the first time in a single item for export by small and medium-sized enterprises.” He added, “As domestic cosmetics manufacturers Cosmax and Kolmar Korea, which boast world-class technological prowess, have directly participated in creating the fund, we expect the ‘K-Beauty Fund’ to kickstart open innovation between manufacturers and small and medium-sized beauty and venture companies.”
Choi Hyun-kyu, CEO of Kolmar Korea, said, “I am confident that this fund will be an important stepping stone to further solidify the globalization of K-beauty,” and added, “By supporting the entry and expansion of innovative products and brands into the global market, we aim to contribute to the qualitative growth and continuous development of the K-beauty ecosystem.”
Shin Yoon-seo, Vice President of Cosmax, said, “Through the K-Beauty Fund, we will invest in the entire beauty value chain, including clients, marketing companies, distribution companies, and raw material companies.” She added, “As the world’s No. 1 ODM company, we aim to serve as the foundation for our country to become No. 1 in cosmetics exports through strategic collaboration with our clients and partners.”
Meanwhile, following the 'K-Beauty Fund Launch Ceremony', the 'Global Insight Conference' was also held to discuss ways to enhance the global competitiveness of K-Beauty with industry experts such as Olive Young, Korea Kolmar, and Hwahae. In particular, considering the market situation where uncertainty has increased due to the recent reciprocal tariff imposition measures by the US, a session on the 'K-Beauty Export Guide', including tariff response measures, was added and discussed at the conference that day.
Minister Oh Young-joo said, “Small and medium-sized enterprises are increasingly concerned due to the recent U.S. tariff measures,” and added, “In this difficult environment, we will pursue various policies that the field demands, such as establishing a K-beauty fund, expanding public-private collaboration support programs, establishing a K-beauty loan to support production funds, and expanding support for hosting international expos and entering K-beauty duty-free shops so that K-beauty small and medium-sized ventures can actively enter the global market.”
He also said, “Cosmetics is the number one export item for our small and medium-sized enterprises, and exports to the U.S. are also increasing. We will closely monitor the situation on the ground, including difficulties caused by U.S. tariffs, and seek additional response measures.”
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