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Sunday, June 21, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 250
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 12 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
EOUL—When the Korean drama Start-up aired in 2020, it captured imaginations with its tale of young founders chasing unicorn dreams. Six years later, South Korea is living out its own real-world sequel—a governmentbacked campaign to turn startups into engines of growth alongside the country’s corporate giants.
STARTUP executives and partners of the Daejeon CCEI brief visiting international journalists from emerging economies on how the city has supported over 220 startups and generated local employment. Pictured (from left to right): Seung-hyeon Do, CEO of DALRO; Hun-jin Park, Managing Director of GIGAette; Seong-hyen Gong, Executive Secretary of KAIA; and Ha-ryeong Oh, General Secretary of SK Telecom.
LOCATED south of Seoul, the Daejeon Startup Park Headquarters is home to the Daejeon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (DCCEI) and 44 growing companies. Surrounded by 10 satellite buildings, it forms a dynamic ecosystem where entrepreneurs, investors, and researchers collaborate.
On the heels of its successful bid to officially push Korean culture and transform its K-drama and pop celebrities into a multibillion-dollar industry, Korea’s push for its startups is gaining global momentum. ment has accredited more than 500 private accelerators. Conglomerates are also stepping in. SK Telecom, which has partnered with the CCEI since 2013, has supported about 520 startups, generating an estimated KRW17 trillion in value. Ha‑ryeong Oh, General Secretary of the Center for Creative Economy and Innovation Start Up Lab Team at SK Telecom Co., recalled how the initiative began. “At first, to be honest, it was more from the perspective of CSR [corporate social responsibility] because that was largely recommended and advised by the government,” Oh said. “But now coming to 2026, it’s no longer just an obligation. We are trying to nurture this into a genuine partnership.”
STARTUP CEOs brief visiting journalists on how the Daejeon CCEI supported the launch of their ventures. Jong-uk Park (left photo), CEO of MCE, recounts transforming a student pitch for mealworm waste fertilizer into a company now valued at KRW 1.05 billion (PHP 42 million). Jae-mun Choi (right photo), CEO of Calici, shares how he overcame a job loss in the US by utilizing DCCEI funding to develop AI-driven small molecule drugs, leading the company to generate KRW 400 million (PHP 16 million) in 2025.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), elevated to full ministry status in 2017, has become the architect of this transformation. Its programs are reshaping an economy long dominated by conglomerates, embedding risk tolerance into entrepreneurial culture, and producing measurable results. Seoul ranked eighth globally in the 2025 Startup Genome Report as one of the best cities to build a startup. “If you are looking at the Korean economy, over 99 percent of company number is all from SMEs,” said Moonsu Kim, Foreign Media Spokesperson for the MSS. “But if you’re looking at the capital size, then about 55 percent are coming from large companies. Only 45 percent are coming from SMEs, so this is a very unique economic landscape.”
Unicorn ambitions and deep tech
FOR Filipinos, the term “unicorn”— a startup valued at over US$1 billion—may still sound novel. In Korea, however, unicorns are multiplying. The country counted 27 last year, and the government has set a target of 50 by 2030. What makes this significant is the kind of companies now reaching that milestone. Korea is deliberately steering its startup ecosystem toward deep tech—advanced technologies that
BusinessMirror reporter Malou TalosigBartolome (left) speaks with Ha-ryeong Oh, General Secretary of SK Telecom’s Center for Creative Economy and Innovation (CCEI) Start Up Lab Team. As a core partner of the DCCEI, the telecommunications giant—a subsidiary of the SK Group conglomerate— has provided essential ICT infrastructure and collaborative opportunities to over 500 startups.
take years to develop but promise transformative impact once commercialized. These are not quick consumer apps, but ventures in semiconductors, aerospace, and artificial intelligence. Two AI chipmakers, Rebellions and FuriosaAI, are preparing for IPOs, while Galaxy Corporation is experimenting with robotics and AI to manage intellectual property for K-pop stars such as G-Dragon. To ensure a steady pipeline of ideas, the MSS launched the Startup for All program in March 2026. Structured like a nationwide audition, it offered KRW50 billion in funding and drew more than 62,000 applicants pitching concepts for subsidized commercialization.
Decentralizing innovation
A FEW kilometers from the Daejeon Startup Park Headquarters is Korea’s version of the Massachusetts Institute of Techonology – Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Its Startup KAIST Studio provides student entrepreneurs and researchers with the dedicated space and resources needed to launch deep-tech ventures.
Hybrid funding, private partnerships
KOREA’S funding model blends state support with private capital. The Tech Incubator Program for Startups (TIPS) requires a private investor to lead before government funds match the investment. Gong Seong-in, Secretary General of the Early Stage Accelerator Association, warned of the risks of a purely state-led system. “If things go wrong, then of course we can make investments in the wrong area, only investing for example in the infrastructure or the ecosystem without having this virtuous cycle play out,” he said. To counter this, the govern-
EXECUTIVES from KAIST’s Institute for Startup guide visiting journalists from the Philippines, Brazil, and Argentina through the Startup KAIST Studio. The facility features collaborative spaces where students can transform laboratory research into commercially viable global ventures— driving an innovation pipeline that has produced 1,972 startups as of 2024.
WHILE Seoul remains the main hub, the government has deliberately spread startup infrastructure to cities such as Daejeon. Home to Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST)— Korea’s version of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology— and 85 percent of the nation’s government research institutes, Daejeon focuses heavily on science and deep tech. The city recently surged to 297th in the 2026 StartupBlink global rankings. The Daejeon Startup Park uses a “distributed campus” model, with a headquarters and nine satellite buildings integrated into a walkable neighborhood. “People are walking down the streets, they meet each other and very naturally engage in discussions about their business,” Yoonsung Hwang, executive director of the Startup Ecosystem Division of Daejeon Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, said. Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 60.5360 n JAPAN 0.3753 n UK 80.0104 n HK 7.7243 n CHINA 8.9510 n SINGAPORE 46.9344 n AUSTRALIA 42.4600 n EU 69.3985 n KOREA 0.0393 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.1292 Source: BSP (June 19, 2026)