This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:19 p.m. on Apr. 06, 2026.
The Mother Fund's "Startup Fever Fund" is drawing criticism that it "rushed a fund to publicize policy achievements," because it allocated only 20% of the total target of 50 billion won to its core program, "Startup for Everyone," and designed the rest (80%) to invest the same way as the existing early startup field.
On the 6th, according to the venture capital (VC) industry, Korea Venture Investment Corporation, the Mother Fund's manager, recently decided to launch the Startup Fever Fund under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups account investment program. The centerpiece is to create a 50 billion won fund by receiving 30 billion won from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' supplementary budget of 170 billion won for the Mother Fund.
Under the structure, Korea Venture Investment Corporation contributes 30 billion won, and the VC selected as manager matches 20 billion won in private money. It is a funding channel linked to the "Startup for Everyone" project, which selects 5,000 people with ideas and helps them start businesses, and it was newly created to invest in founders who appear in the technology "national competition."
The Startup Fever Fund, however, was mired in controversy over lack of effectiveness and showy administration from the outset. The government promoted that it would concentrate funds on the top 100 in the competition, but the fund's actual main investment targets were found to be "corporations within three years of establishment or with annual sales under 2 billion won."
In particular, the mandatory investment ratio for corporations participating in "Startup for Everyone" is confirmed to be only 20% of the total, or about 10 billion won. As a result, of the 50 billion won fund, the money truly befitting the name "Startup Fever" comes to only about 10 billion won, one-fifth of the Startup Fever Fund's 50 billion won.
The remaining 80% (40 billion won) is highly likely to overlap with existing investments. That is because the Startup Fever Fund's main targets—"early corporations within three years of establishment and with sales under 2 billion won"—already match the early startup (small) field within the Mother Fund. There is also no difference from the main targets of the "Rookie League," which Korea Venture Investment Corporation created to support new VCs.
A VC official who requested anonymity said, "The Startup Fever Fund was an investment program that could have been done simply by adding some targets to the existing early startup field," adding, "Pushing to create a separate field makes it look like the government hastily assembled a perception-shifting fund to promote policy achievements."
In fact, in February, during the first regular investment program, Korea Venture Investment Corporation was found to have separately specified in the guidance on the main investment targets for early startups (small) that it would "invest 20% or more of the total commitment in corporations participating in Startup for Everyone" among the main investment targets. That means it was possible to handle within the system already in operation.
It is also hard to avoid criticism of wasted administrative effort and taxpayer money. While sourcing the same early-stage corporations, VCs must draft duplicate funding proposal requests because the fund names differ, and they must undergo separate post-management procedures. Korea Venture Investment Corporation could also end up unnecessarily splitting personnel for investment management.
A capital market expert said, "The government's intent to spark a startup boom is good, but it is regrettable that the Startup Fever Fund ended up as a 'make a new pocket' style of slicing the budget," emphasizing, "For revitalizing venture investment, it is far more important to tear down unnecessary silos and strengthen the substance of capital management than to have a flashy name."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) acknowledged that the amount invested in the Startup for Everyone project from the 50 billion won Startup Fever Fund is about 10 billion won. An MSS official said, "The Startup for Everyone mandatory investment under the Startup Fever Fund is 20%," adding, "Still, it appears that at least 10 billion won will be invested in Startup for Everyone."