Chuncheon has won a minister's award in the outstanding project category at the Ministry of Employment and Labor's National Local Government Job Creation Awards.
The city's full-cycle startup support system drew widespread praise as a national model.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor held the 2026 National Local Government Job Creation Awards ceremony Wednesday at the Korea Press Center.
The ministry selected Chuncheon's project, titled "Chuncheon Station C: The Final Destination for Youth Entrepreneurship," as the top prize winner in the outstanding project category.
Chuncheon plans to use the recognition as a springboard to expand its startup ecosystem.
Building on a recently established master plan for the "Startup City Chuncheon Project," the city aims to flesh out a full-cycle support system covering startup discovery, incubation, investment and growth — while also competing for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Regional Hub Startup City" designation.
Chuncheon Station C is an integrated startup support framework that goes beyond simply providing workspace, linking entrepreneurship, incubation, investment, consulting, market access and business growth into a single continuum. The initiative focuses on creating an environment where startups can launch, grow and put down roots in Chuncheon.
This integrated support system has been built on sustained collaboration among local startup stakeholders.
In 2023, Chuncheon became the first city in Gangwon Province to establish a Startup Innovation Council bringing together local government, industry, academia and research institutions, connecting previously scattered startup resources and support programs. The city then launched the Station C Alliance — a consortium of 15 organizations including local universities and startup support agencies — to build a collaborative framework spanning startup discovery, incubation, investment and growth.
Evaluators gave high marks to the city's success in translating that collaborative framework into tangible growth for actual startups.
Among the standout achievements: operating startup spaces and incubation programs centered on the Geunhwa-dong 396 hub, and connecting companies' products and services to citizens and markets through a startup expo.
Public-private-academic collaboration through the Startup Innovation Council and the Station C Alliance, along with a certification program to identify and support promising companies, were also recognized as key accomplishments.
Along with the minister's award, Chuncheon will receive bonus points in next year's application for the region-tailored job creation support project run by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as well as funding for capacity-building activities to advance its job creation initiatives.
In September, the city plans to contribute 500 million won ($352,000) to a 4 billion won biotech development fund being established by the Gangwon Creative Economy Innovation Center, broadening the investment base for local startups.
In October, the city plans to integrate the Chuncheon Startup Expo, the Gangwon Bio Expo and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Regional Startup Festival to expand exchanges among companies, investors and startup support organizations.
"The local startup ecosystem we have systematically built on years of accumulated experience has borne fruit in this top prize at the Job Creation Awards," Mayor Yuk Dong-han said. "Going forward, we will deepen collaboration with local innovation players — universities, startup support agencies and businesses — to solidify a virtuous cycle of business growth, job creation and local reinvestment, and we will focus all our efforts on securing final selection as a Ministry of SMEs and Startups 'Regional Hub Startup City.'"
abc@heraldcorp.com
