Second “Startup for All” Selects 10,000; Returning Applicants Make Up 40%

Young people make up 65%; applicants from outside the Seoul metropolitan area, 74%
Round 1 support kicks off with launch ceremonies on the 20th
Second-chance mentoring also available to applicants not selected

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups selected 10,000 applicants to advance to Round 1 of the second “Startup for All” project. Among those selected after competing at odds of 9.3 to 1, 40.4% were returning applicants who had completed mentoring for a second attempt.

Infographic on the Second “Startup for Everyone” Initiative. Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

The 10,000 applicants selected for Round 1 of the second Startup for All project include ▲8,000 in the General and Technology track and ▲2,000 in the Local track. Among those selected, 65.3% were young people aged 39 or younger, and 74.0% were from outside the Seoul metropolitan area. By startup field, IT (28%), lifestyle (19%), and education (10%) accounted for the largest shares in the General and Technology track, while daily living (49%) and F&B (39%) were the leading fields in the Local track.

Applicants who were not selected in the first Startup for All project and applied again made up 40.4% of all those advancing. Drawing on the evaluation feedback made public after their first attempt and mentoring for a second attempt, they refined their ideas and business models and returned with more developed ideas.

One returning applicant in the General and Technology track proposed selling houseplants as subscription products, using vacant spaces in the city that had been left unused. Although the applicant was not selected in the first round, mentoring for a second attempt prompted them to reassess their business model and develop concrete plans for implementing the technology, commercializing the product in stages, and generating revenue.

Ideas inspired by personal experience also stood out. One applicant in the Local track, who achieved a perfect score on all subjects of the 2026 College Scholastic Ability Test, proposed a stick-type coffee brand made with ingredients including extracts of lion's mane mushrooms from Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. The idea was inspired by the afternoon drowsiness and side effects the applicant experienced while relying on caffeine during exam preparation.

Key participating organizations that took part in the evaluations said that the ideas and commercialization plans were more developed and specific than in the first round.

Incheon National University, the operating institution for the General and Technology track, said, “Ideas that showed genuine insight into ‘why the applicants wanted to solve these problems’ stood out more than polished business plans, and the business plans were structured at a much more advanced level than in the first round.”

The Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, the operating institution for the Local track, said, “Applicants returning for a second attempt actively incorporated feedback from the previous evaluation and mentoring to refine their ideas and business models.” It added, “We will focus on helping them strengthen market validation, revenue models, and sales channel strategies so their efforts can lead to viable local startups.”

The 10,000 people selected for the second “Startup for All” project will begin their startup activities in earnest following launch ceremonies to be held on October 20 across all 17 cities and provinces. Each selected applicant will receive 2 million won in startup activity funding. In addition to early-stage startup mentoring provided by the operating institutions, they will also be offered artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to rapidly develop their startup ideas.

For the more than 83,000 applicants who were not selected this time, in-person mentoring for a second attempt will be available from October 26 through December 14. Applications for the mentoring can be submitted through the Startup for All platform starting October 16.

Jo Gyeongwon, Director General for Startup Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “We encountered a wide range of ideas from people seeking to solve everyday problems in their own way. Many people came back with more developed ideas after the disappointment of the first round, showing that a startup culture where failure becomes experience is taking root.” He added, “The government will provide support to help the 10,000 applicants turn their efforts into actual startups and growth.”

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