Gyeonggi-do Governor Kim Dong-yeon said, “Let's make Gyeonggi-do a startup paradise,” pledging to create more than 20 unicorn companies in five years.

On the 26th, Gyeonggi-do held the inauguration ceremony of the Gyeonggi-do Startup Council at the Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center International Conference Hall in Pangyo. This is the first time a Gyeonggi-do-level startup council has been launched. More than 600 startup officials attended the event, where the council was declared inaugurated and 11 executives were presented with certificates of appointment.

“When I met with unicorn companies from around the world at the Davos Forum, I told them that I had made a pledge to make Korea a startup paradise when I was a presidential candidate and Gyeonggi-do a startup paradise when I was a governor,” said Governor Kim Dong-yeon, adding, ”We will create at least 20 unicorn companies in Gyeonggi-do over the next five years.”

“Clustering, networking, and globalization are the core of Gyeonggi-do's startup policy,” said Kim, who emphasized three things: ”Gathering together, networking, and internationalization. “Through today's council, we will do our best to lay the infrastructure and create an ecosystem for startups to gather, network, and internationalize. Let's make Gyeonggi-do a startup paradise together,” emphasized Kim.

The Gyeonggi Startup Council is a council for ▲ attracting global investment, ▲ discovering and fostering promising startups, and ▲ collaborating between startups, anchor companies, and domestic and foreign investors. The council is composed of a chairman, 10 leaders in three groups, including clustering, networking, and global, and more than 500 members.

The council is chaired by Lee Ju-wan of Megazone Cloud, a leading AI and cloud company. Megazone Cloud is the first Gyeonggi-do unicorn in the cloud industry with a revenue of KRW 1.7 trillion (as of 2023), and is a company that supports cloud infrastructure and digital transformation.

“In my 27 years of running a business, I believe that without the help of various organizations and people, both large and small, I and Megazone Cloud would not be where we are today,” said Lee. ”As the chairman of the Gyeonggi Startup Council, I will do my best to make the council a lighthouse for many startups that will find their way one day, but may be stuck right now, just as I experienced.”

The Gyeonggi Startup Council plans to revitalize the startup ecosystem by advising on startup policies, establishing innovation strategies, supporting open innovation, and providing customized coaching to individual startups. It also plans to strengthen the global competitiveness of startups by operating seminars and meetings for each division, and support the growth of startups through various programs.

The inauguration of the council is an important strategic step to revitalize Gyeonggi-do's startup ecosystem, which will strengthen its global competitiveness, facilitate startups' overseas expansion, and complete its roadmap as a 'startup paradise'.

At the event, Chairman Lee Joo-wan and representatives from global unicorn companies, including Silicon Valley-based Korean corporate investor Lee Ki-ha of Primer Priest Partners, Tim Hwang of Piscalnote, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange, Se-hyuk Park of AI unicorn Moloko, and Park Ji-yong of Solutions Nozomi Networks, the world's largest industrial control network security company, held a town hall meeting to discuss the future and present of Korean startups.

There were also special lectures by CES Innovation Award judges, 1:1 VC investment counseling sessions, and free exchange among participants.

To realize its vision of a “startup paradise,” Gyeonggi-do is pursuing three action items: creating startup infrastructure, strengthening the startup ecosystem network, and supporting startups to go global. By 2026, the province plans to build 200,000 square meters of startup space in 20 locations, including Pangyo, to attract investment through networking between startups and support organizations, as well as lay the foundation for the growth of early-stage companies through customized support programs. It also plans to hold an international startup investment fair to actively support overseas investment and expansion.

[News Source: Gyeonggi-do]