15 rural startups to gain access to Hyundai Department Store retail channels

Top entries in the rural amenity startup category at the 2026 Rural Startup Competition [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]

Private retail companies and specialist organizations are stepping in to help rural startups that have strong ideas and products but struggle to secure professional incubation support and market access.

The 15 selected companies will receive product development and retail support from Hyundai Department Store Group and professional mentoring from World Vision. Starting in 2027, they will also be eligible for up to 100 million won ($70,000) in commercialization funding through partnerships with local governments.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs launched the "Rural Startup Leap+" networking day Thursday at Hyundai Department Store Group's human resources development center in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, formally kicking off a public-private growth support program for the 15 companies that won this year's Rural Startup Competition.

The ministry selected the 15 companies — eight in the rural amenity startup category and seven in the local food startup category — through a competition held from March through June.

The program focuses on translating the ideas and products of rural startups into tangible business results. The ministry identifies high-potential companies, and Hyundai Department Store Group and World Vision then apply their respective expertise in retail and professional incubation to help refine products and open new sales channels.

Hyundai Department Store Group will concentrate its support on product development, hygiene management and market access for participating companies. The group plans to draw on its accumulated retail experience in product planning and sales to sharpen each company's market competitiveness and help them enter actual distribution networks.

World Vision will assemble a mentoring team of specialists covering product development, branding, sales channels and rural tourism. The organization will oversee the entire incubation process — from initial company assessments through prototype production, performance reviews and investment attraction support — and will also collaborate with the social enterprise mentoring network Mentory.

Top entries in the local food startup category at the 2026 Rural Startup Competition [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]

The ministry will also expand direct support for the winning companies. Working with local governments, it will provide up to 100 million won in commercialization funding per company starting in 2027, and will pursue overseas market access through promotional activities and agricultural food export programs.

Participating companies will have free access for one year to prototype production equipment at the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Institute's Youth Food Startup Center. They will also receive on-site expert consultations and mentoring to reduce trial and error during product development, and will be given opportunities to list their products on the "Food Polis Market" platform, both online and offline.

Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryeong, Hyundai Department Store Group chief executive Jang Ho-jin, World Vision Korea president Cho Myung-hwan and the specialist mentoring team attended Thursday's event. The gathering featured an awards ceremony for top-performing companies, case presentations and a sharing of each organization's support plans, followed by a session in which participating companies raised on-the-ground requests.

The networking event runs through Friday, spanning two days and one night. Participating companies and their category mentors are scheduled to review each firm's business model and product competitiveness and discuss the direction of future incubation support.

"For rural startups to grow sustainably, the government's support must be connected to private-sector expertise and market experience," Agriculture Minister Song said. "We will help outstanding companies sharpen their competitiveness and open new sales channels, and we will expand the public-private cooperative growth model."

adastra@heraldcorp.com