Korea Startup Forum (hereinafter referred to as COMEUP) announced on the 8th that it has been selected as the organizing organization for the global startup festival COMEUP, together with the Korea Venture Business Association and the Korea Venture Capital Association. Based on its experience of successfully hosting COMEUP for three consecutive years since 2022, COMEUP will form a consortium with the Korea Venture Business Association (Chairman Song Byung-jun, hereinafter referred to as VC Association) and the Korea Venture Capital Association (Chairman Kim Hak-gyun, hereinafter referred to as VC Association) to create a more complete COMEUP.
Since 2019, ComeUp has been reorganized as a global startup event hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and since 2022, it has been hosted by KOSPO, demonstrating its expertise as a private organization supporting startups. In particular, the 2024 ComeUp is expected to be held on the largest scale ever, with approximately 260 startups from 45 countries expected to participate, further solidifying its international status.
This year, ComeUp held a public contest to select a host organization in order to encourage more diverse startup participation and maximize global influence, and as a result, a consortium including KOSPO, Venture Business Association, and VC Association was finally selected. Through this, the operation of ComeUp in 2025 will be an all-out effort to enable the three organizations of ▲Korea Startup Forum (startup ecosystem growth), ▲Venture Business Association (venture business participation and open innovation), and ▲Korea Venture Capital Association (venture investment activation) to combine their different expertise so that it can leap forward as a global startup festival.
Based on the global network and startup support experience accumulated through the operation of ComeUp for the past three years, COSPO plans to present stronger global cooperation and innovative programs. Through this, the scale of ComeUp will be expanded with the goals of ▲ expanding participation of innovative startups ▲ increasing real investment opportunities ▲ increasing the inflow of large, medium, and venture companies. In addition, we plan to strengthen investment linkage and corporate matching programs to provide customized support for startups to grow and to become competitive on the global stage.
The Korea Venture Business Association and the Korea Venture Capital Association will prepare the main event of ComeUp according to the characteristics of each organization. The Korea Venture Capital Association will maximize the participation of venture companies, activate cooperation between large and medium-sized companies and startups through open innovation, and provide various networks for technology collaboration and market expansion. The VC Association will focus on activating exchanges between startups and venture capitalists, and will provide practical investment linkage opportunities such as pitching sessions for promising companies, 1:1 meetings, and global investor invitation programs.
The organizing organizations of ComeUp 2025 plan to prepare differentiated pre-programs within the first half of the year, including forming an advisory committee, recruiting participating companies, promoting the main event, and operating follow-up support programs for selected companies.
Song Byeong-jun, chairman of the Korea Venture Business Association, said, “The association has been working hard to create an innovative venture ecosystem and has laid the foundation for the growth of various entities in the ecosystem,” and added, “In this ComeUp, we will work to build channels for mutual cooperation between large, medium, and venture companies and to activate open innovation so that we can grow together.”
Kim Hak-gyun, chairman of the Korea Venture Capital Association, said, “The VC Association is a leading association in venture investment, and has been leading the advancement of the venture capital industry and supporting the scale-up of promising startups and start-ups.” He added, “We will plan efficient programs so that the global startup ecosystem can achieve tangible investment attraction results through ComeUp, and establish a foundation for sustainable growth.”
Han Sang-woo, Chairman of the Korea Startup Forum, said, “Over the past three years, we have operated ComeUp and supported various programs that allowed startups around the world to innovate on the global stage.” He added, “This year, ComeUp will focus on scale-up based on our operational capabilities so far, and we hope that it will become a truly global platform that can provide support for startups at each stage of their growth and practical help with their global expansion.”
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