[Ministry of SMEs and Startups]
[Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced Sunday it will hold "Idea Consulting Day" events across all 17 cities and provinces to help aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs protect their ideas.

The ministry will run the Idea Consulting Day events at startup one-stop support centers nationwide from Monday through July 30, targeting participants in the "Everyone's Startup Project" as well as aspiring entrepreneurs and startups seeking idea protection.

The events are part of the startup support program offered through the one-stop support centers. They were organized to help startups protect their ideas and strengthen their commercialization competitiveness amid sustained entrepreneurial enthusiasm — most recently demonstrated by more than 63,000 applications to the "Everyone's Startup Project."

Each event will feature one-on-one consultations with intellectual property experts. Startups can receive consulting across a range of areas relevant to the commercialization process, including patent and trademark applications, trade secret protection, technology protection and legal advice.

More than 120 experts will take part in the consultations, including lawyers affiliated with the startup one-stop support centers, members of the integrated technology protection support team for small and medium-sized enterprises, legal support groups and the trade secret protection center of the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency.

Beyond intellectual property, the events will also offer consulting on management, taxation and accounting to provide more comprehensive support throughout the startup process. Companies requiring additional assistance after their consultations will be connected to follow-up specialist services through the one-stop support centers.

Since opening in December last year, the startup one-stop support centers have resolved approximately 15,000 difficulties faced by aspiring entrepreneurs and startups over roughly seven months, establishing themselves as a key gateway for startup support.

As technology-based startups have grown in number, interest in guarding against idea theft and technology leaks has risen. Early-stage startups in particular often lack the specialized personnel and funds needed for patent applications and trade secret management, driving consistent growth in demand for public support. The ministry said it plans to link legal, tax and technology protection services through the one-stop support centers, creating an environment where startups can safely protect their ideas and focus on commercialization.

"Ideas are a startup's most important asset, which is why systematic protection from the very beginning of the entrepreneurial journey is paramount," said Mok Seung-hwan, director general of the ministry's startup and venture innovation office. "We will spare no effort in supporting startup companies so they can confidently pursue innovation, making full use of the nationwide one-stop support network and our intellectual property expert network."

Detailed schedules are available in the notices section of the startup support portal K-Startup.


boo@heraldcorp.com