Province co-hosts event with Ministry of SMEs and Startups to bridge regional startup gap
A startup festival aimed at narrowing the gap between Greater Seoul and non-metropolitan regions — and building a self-sustaining local entrepreneurship ecosystem — opened Tuesday.
South Chungcheong Province launched the "2026 Everyone's Startup Festival in South Chungcheong: Next Stage" at the Yoo Gwan-sun Gymnasium in Cheonan, kicking off a two-day event.
The opening ceremony drew about 150 attendees, including officials from the province, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the South Chungcheong Regional Office of SMEs and Startups, startups, investors, universities and related organizations, all gathering to support new challenges and growth in the regional startup scene.
Co-hosted by South Chungcheong Province and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and organized by the South Chungcheong Creative Economy Innovation Center, the event runs through Wednesday and features a range of programs — investor IR sessions, open-innovation meetups with large and mid-sized companies, a startup club competition, one-stop consulting and an exhibition of outstanding startups.
Following the opening ceremony, a panel talk titled "Everyone's Startup" brought together Ministry of SMEs and Startups officials, startup ecosystem stakeholders, mentors and participants to share their entrepreneurial experiences and explore how startup culture can be made accessible to all.
A global session featured members of the San Francisco startup ecosystem sharing insights and experiences from one of the world's leading startup cities, with discussions focusing on how local startups can expand overseas and how the regional ecosystem can grow globally.
The province plans to use the event as a springboard to more closely connect local industry, universities, research institutions, investors and startup support networks, strengthening an ecosystem where startups can take root and grow in the region.
Kim Yeong-gwan, director of the province's AI Industry Innovation Bureau, said he hopes the festival will give aspiring entrepreneurs and growth-stage companies alike a chance to meet and discover new opportunities. "We will actively support startups so they can grow in South Chungcheong and advance into larger markets by more closely connecting the province's industrial and startup capabilities," he said.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
