Launch ceremonies held simultaneously across all 17 cities and provinces

Participants to receive startup funds, mentoring and AI solutions

Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young [Ministry of SMEs and Startups]
Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young [Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

Some 10,000 applicants selected from a pool of more than 93,000 have begun their entrepreneurial journey through the government's second round of "Everyone's Startup," a national startup support program.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a launch ceremony Tuesday for the second round of the program at Startup Venture Campus Seoul in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

The event drew more than 120 attendees, including Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young, participants from both the first and second rounds, lead mentors and sunbae entrepreneurs. Simultaneous ceremonies were held across all 17 cities and provinces nationwide.

The second round drew more than 93,000 applicants — roughly 30,000 more than the approximately 63,000 who applied for the first round.

The 10,000 selected participants will receive startup activity funds, professional mentoring and AI solutions to help them refine their business ideas and validate their commercial viability.

Everyone's Startup is designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs turn their ideas into real businesses. It focuses on supporting participants who lack startup experience or expertise, guiding them through mentoring and step-by-step assistance toward commercialization.

In the ongoing first round, participants have already begun to show results — securing investment and filing patent applications after going through mentoring and business development stages. Community activities where participants share experiences and challenges have also taken place.

Notably, the second round includes participants who previously took part in the first round and are now returning with new business ideas built on lessons from their initial attempt, underscoring the program's value as a platform for second chances.

At Tuesday's ceremony, lead mentors delivered overall assessments of the applicants, and sunbae entrepreneurs offered words of encouragement.

Jung Seung-kyung, chief executive of IL Institute and a lead mentor for the program, said the standout quality among applicants was "not flashy technology, but sharp problem definition and real-world applicability."

Baek Sang-il, chief executive of Creed Partners, said he hoped participants would "grow into differentiated brands that draw on local resources through the Everyone's Startup project."

One returning participant's story was also highlighted. After receiving re-challenge mentoring in the first round, she reapplied for the second and proposed a startup idea centered on making soap from discarded grape byproducts.

"I will become an entrepreneur who perseveres to the end, despite the difficulties, to build a local soap brand using Korea's finest ingredients," she said.

Minister Lee also joined a panel discussion with participants from both rounds, exchanging views on startup policy direction and individual business ideas.

Following the main ceremony in Seoul, regional orientation sessions were held across all 17 cities and provinces, where participants received guidance on upcoming program schedules and had the opportunity to connect with their assigned mentor organizations.

"Each of the 10,000 participants gathered here today will be the ones who shape the future of Korea," Lee said. "We will be a steadfast pillar of support so that they can try freely, learn from failure and try again — backing them through every step of the startup journey."


boo@heraldcorp.com