Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Select Six More “Startup Cities” Leveraging Regional Strengths

"Startup City Development Project" opens additional call for applications
Six cities to be selected in January next year
Selected startup cities to receive 60 billion won over four years

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on October 22 that it will open applications to select six additional startup cities under its “Startup City Development Project.”

The Startup City Development Project, launched this year, aims to connect local startup resources, including talent, technology and capital, and build an ecosystem in which startups can launch, grow and establish themselves locally, drawing on each region’s specialized industries and capacity for innovation.

In the first half of this year, the Ministry selected four regions—Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju and Ulsan—as leading startup city models, focusing on areas with institutes of science and technology that continuously cultivate technology talent. The local governments then developed strategies for building startup cities based on their industries and innovation resources. Since August, they have been providing comprehensive support, including commercialization funding for startups, startup education, demonstrations and open innovation.

This call for applications aims to identify new regional growth hubs that can connect their distinctive industries, talent and innovation capabilities with startups, building on the four existing leading models. The Ministry plans to identify a range of locally led startup city models by having local governments design their own priority areas and development strategies.

Selected startup cities will receive an annual budget of 15 billion won for four years through 2030 to fund startup commercialization and growth support programs. The initiative will also be linked with various government startup support programs, including TIPS, regional growth funds and the establishment of angel investment hubs.

In addition, a startup city task force will be established, led by local governments and bringing together regional innovation stakeholders, including universities, research institutes, Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation, investment institutions and local companies. The initiative aims to build an ecosystem in which regions can identify and grow startups themselves, going beyond support for individual startups.

The Ministry plans to select six startup cities through this call. By the end of November, local governments must submit startup city strategies and project plans based on their local startup conditions, specialized industries and innovation resources. The Ministry will conduct document and on-site evaluations based on the submitted plans. The document review will assess the strength of the local startup ecosystem and the proposed strategies. For the on-site evaluation, an assessment team will visit each region to comprehensively examine the local government’s commitment, participation by innovation stakeholders such as universities and research institutes, and conditions for establishing startup hubs.

Applications will open in October and be accepted through the end of November. Starting at the end of this year, the Ministry will conduct document and on-site evaluations, followed by a final review, and plans to select six new startup cities in January 2027. Once the additional selections are complete, there will be 10 startup cities nationwide.

Minister Lee Soyoung said, “Through this call for applications, we will connect the unique strengths of each region with startups and create new regional growth hubs that attract startups, talent and investment.”

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