5,000 Contestants Begin the Everyone’s Startup Race (Comprehensive)

Launch Ceremony for the First Cohort of Everyone’s Startup Held at SVC Seoul on June 16

Full-Scale Acceleration Program Begins for Entrepreneurs Selected Through 12.6:1 Competition

Comprehensive Support Including Mentoring, Startup Activity

The full-scale startup race has begun for 5,000 individuals selected from "Everyone's Startup," a large-scale entrepreneurship project that attracted 63,000 applicants. This competition will run until December, when the nationwide audition will take place. Throughout this period, outstanding startup organizations and experienced mentor teams will guide entrepreneurs through every stage of their growth.

On June 16th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it had held the launch ceremony for the first cohort of Everyone's Startup at Startup Venture Campus Seoul (SVC Seoul), and that the official nurturing program for the selected entrepreneurs would now commence.

This project saw intense competition, recording a ratio of 12.6 to 1. The final 5,000 participants will receive comprehensive support covering all stages of entrepreneurship, including professional mentoring, startup activity funding, artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, and regulatory screening (pre-assessment), provided jointly by the government and private sector.

Sung-sook Han, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is attending the launch ceremony of the first class of Everyone's Startup held at SVC Seoul in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 16th, delivering a congratulatory speech. 2026.06.16 Photo by Dongju Yoon

The core of the program is professional mentoring. To this end, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups selected 119 startup organizations nationwide, each with excellent startup incubation capabilities. Each organization has also designated a lead mentor responsible for guiding the entire incubation process. The lead mentors will now provide initial mentoring over the next two months. Based on mentor evaluations and internal assessments by the organizations, 1,100 participants will be selected to advance to the next round.

Minister Hansung Sook stated, "The biggest gap I observed on the ground was not capital, but 'who you know.' This disparity is especially pronounced in regional areas," adding, "To address this, Everyone's Startup is building a database of key figures in the startup ecosystem and creating a foundation where anyone can connect."

Kwon Dokyun, CEO of Primer, who participated as a mentor organization, said, "The greatest asset I observed during the selection process was the determination of the challengers to see things through to the end," adding, "The mentor group will also provide close, step-by-step support so that these challengers can successfully launch their startups."

Han Seongsuk, Minister of SMEs and Startups, attended the launch ceremony of the first batch of Everyone’s Startup held at SVC Seoul in Mapo-gu, Seoul on June 16, 2026, and took a commemorative photo with the selected participants. Photo by Dongju Yoon

The first round of Everyone's Startup involves mentoring, followed by regional and zonal auditions, culminating in the national audition in December. Marking the start of this journey, about 120 people—including the Minister of SMEs and Startups, selected participants, mentor organizations, and experienced entrepreneurs—attended the launch event. Alongside the main event in Seoul, launch ceremonies were also held simultaneously in all 17 provinces and metropolitan cities across the country. The event was broadcast live on YouTube, allowing the entire nation to share in the excitement for entrepreneurship.

Immediately after the main event, orientation sessions were simultaneously conducted in 17 provinces and cities nationwide. The challengers were introduced to the roadmap for the support program and held their first networking sessions with their matched mentor organizations, kicking off the process of refining their business ideas.

One challenger who was selected for the "Personal Finance Calculator Service" idea said, "I had previously hesitated to try entrepreneurship due to fear of failure, but I found the courage to take the leap because I realized that a single idea could be enough," adding, "I am determined to see this project through to the end and prove myself with tangible startup results." Pitchayanin Chutippattana, a challenger from Thailand, said, "Although our team is made up entirely of foreigners, we decided to participate because we identified a problem we want to solve."

Minister Sung-Sook Han of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups attended the launch ceremony of the first class of "Startup for All" held at SVC Seoul in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 16th, and took a commemorative photo with the selected participants. 2026.06.16 Photo by Dongju Yoon

For the approximately 58,000 applicants who were not selected for the first cohort, a re-challenge mentoring program will be provided. Cho Kyungwon, Director of Startup Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, explained, "For the first time in any startup support program, we are providing every challenger with feedback from screening mentors on how to refine their ideas, so they can continue their entrepreneurial journey," adding, "We will also offer more than 40 offline mentoring sessions across 17 provinces and cities, as well as online re-challenge mentoring where participants can receive feedback on how to improve their ideas." If applicants supplement their ideas compared to their original submissions, they will receive preferential consideration—such as bonus points—during the selection process for the second cohort of Everyone's Startup. Recruitment for the second cohort, which will relax eligibility requirements and provide even more opportunities, is scheduled to be announced early next month.

Minister Han stated, "For the second cohort of Everyone's Startup, we will expand the scope of entrepreneurship by launching a university league, a youth startup camp, and a global league. We will also further enhance the quality of the platform by increasing participation from large and medium-sized companies and expanding mentor organizations," adding, "We will extend the previously three-year limit on re-entrepreneurship opportunities to include those who have restarted within seven years, so that even more challenges can be taken on."

Minister Han continued, "The government and private sector will work as one team to support every stage of the startup process, so that the 5,000 selected innovators can grow into leaders not only in Korea but also on the global stage," adding, "Through this, we will build a dynamic Everyone's Startup ecosystem and realize Korea's status as a true startup nation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.