Moon Gap, head of the management division at Hoban Construction (left), and Park Dae-hee, chief executive of the Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center, pose for a photo after signing an MOU to jointly identify promising startups and strengthen open-innovation cooperation on Tuesday. [Hoban Group]
Moon Gap, head of the management division at Hoban Construction (left), and Park Dae-hee, chief executive of the Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center, pose for a photo after signing an MOU to jointly identify promising startups and strengthen open-innovation cooperation on Tuesday. [Hoban Group]

Hoban Group announced Thursday that it has signed an MOU with the Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center to jointly identify promising startups and strengthen open-innovation cooperation.

The agreement is designed to build a collaborative framework between the two organizations for discovering and nurturing startups with advanced technology. The core aim is to connect startup technologies with Hoban Group's key business areas — including construction, manufacturing and leisure — and to reinforce the foundation for technology commercialization.

The two organizations plan to expand proof-of-concept opportunities for startups through jointly operated programs, and will also pursue business cooperation and investment linkages.

Main areas of collaboration include the joint identification and development of deep tech startups, co-planning, operation and promotion of open-innovation programs, and support for investment attraction and follow-up assistance.

Hoban Group will identify promising startups whose technologies can be linked to the business areas of its affiliates — Hoban Construction, Taihan Cable & Solution and Hoban Hotels & Resorts. It will then support them through proof-of-concept testing and commercialization reviews.

The Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center will be responsible for recommending startups, running incubation programs, and facilitating proof-of-concept testing and investment connections.

Hoban Group had already been participating as a partner in the center's open-innovation program "Dream Venture Star Season 12" since April. The group plans to use the MOU as a springboard to expand follow-on programs and joint projects, deepening the partnership further.

"Hoban Group is continuously expanding collaboration with startups that hold innovative technologies across a wide range of business fields," said Moon Gap, head of the management division at Hoban Construction. "Through this agreement, we will not only support the growth of promising deep tech startups but also build a mutually beneficial open-innovation ecosystem where new business opportunities are created together."

Park Dae-hee, chief executive of the Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center, said he hopes the MOU will combine the center's strength in identifying local deep tech startups with Hoban Group's diverse business portfolio to produce tangible results. "We will spare no effort in supporting local deep tech startups so they can take a leap forward through collaboration with large and mid-sized companies," Park said.

Meanwhile, Hoban Group runs an annual innovation technology competition to identify promising startups and support their commercialization. Since 2020, it has provided about 1.9 billion won ($1.26 million) in commercialization funding to a total of 66 companies, expanding its cooperative ties with the startup community.


quq@heraldcorp.com