City unveils vision to become startup hub where deep tech breeds unicorns; over 5,000 investors and founders expected
Daejeon launched its Startup Korea Investment Week on Tuesday at the Daejeon Startup Park headquarters in Gung-dong, Yuseong-gu, alongside a formal declaration of the city's vision to become a startup hub where innovative technology grows into unicorn companies.
The opening ceremony drew about 100 attendees, including Daejeon Deputy Mayor for Policy and Science Ji Young-han, Ministry of SMEs and Startups Director General for Startup and Venture Innovation Mok Seung-hwan, the presidents of Chungnam National University, Hanbat National University, Hannam University and Konyang University, and representatives from domestic and international investment firms and startups.
After the ceremony, Mayor Heo toured investment consultation booths and exhibition and experience spaces set up across the Gung-dong area, taking in the energy on the ground.
This year's slogan is "From the Alley to the World: The Power of Startup City Daejeon." The opening performance brought the slogan to life on stage, depicting startup hubs from across Daejeon — including Daedeok Special Research and Development Zone and local universities and research institutes — converging on Gung-dong before reaching out to the world.
A vision declaration ceremony followed the opening, with more than 20 partner organizations joining to formally adopt "Daejeon: a startup city where innovative technology becomes unicorn companies" as the city's guiding vision, with a target of breaking into the top 100 global startup cities by 2030. Daejeon was selected earlier this year as a priority city under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' startup city development project, and the city plans to channel the technological strengths of Daedeok Special Research and Development Zone into new ventures and support those companies as they grow on the global stage.
Now in its fourth year, the Investment Week has established itself as the largest community-based, neighborhood-style investment networking event in South Korea. Running through Thursday, it spans Daejeon Startup Park, Tips Town and small-business storefronts throughout the Gung-dong alleys. The program includes one-on-one investment consultations, demo days, forums and networking events, with some 5,000 participants expected from domestic and international investment firms, startups and related organizations. New additions this year include a physical AI forum and investor relations presentations, a climate tech innovation forum and a re-entrepreneurship seminar, all designed to strengthen investment connections across specific industries and themes.
The three previous editions drew a cumulative 14,300-plus participants, with an annual average of roughly 1,200 one-on-one investment consultations. Those interactions helped generate approximately 93 billion won ($67.6 million) in direct and indirect investment.
International partnerships have also expanded. This year, 10 overseas investment and startup support organizations from Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, France, Germany and other countries are taking part, helping Korean startups pursue overseas expansion, local proof-of-concept projects and cross-border investment connections.
"Daejeon is already at the heart of South Korea's startup ecosystem, and now it is time to reach out to the world," Deputy Mayor Ji said. "Daejeon will be there every step of the way to ensure that the connections made in the alleys of Gung-dong translate into real investment and growth."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
