The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups announced on the 27th that it will hold the entrepreneur networking conference 'JOIN 2025,' which is a related event of the 'APEC Ministerial Meeting for Small and Medium Enterprises' on September 1, 2025, at the Jeju Booyoung Hotel.
The APEC Ministerial Meeting for Small and Medium Enterprises is one of the ministerial meetings within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) aimed at discussing issues related to small and medium-sized enterprises and small business within the APEC region.
'JOIN 2025,' co-hosted by the Jeju Creative Economy Innovation Center and the Council of Creative Economy Innovation Centers, is the third startup conference in Jeju. 'JOIN' stands for the Journey of INnovation, and it also represents the initial letters of the four key themes of the conference: Journey, Opportunity, Innovation, and Networking.
First, it strengthened the consolidation and exchange of both domestic and international entrepreneurial ecosystems. While the JOIN event focused on exchange and collaboration between Jeju and other regions in Korea until last year, this year, it expanded opportunities for exchange and cooperation with APEC member countries such as Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia in conjunction with the Ministerial Meeting for Small and Medium Enterprises. Through this, it plans to provide local startups with opportunities to meet with various entities, including global investors and support organizations.
In addition, six private organizations specializing in fostering startups and investment will sign a memorandum of understanding during this event and jointly seek ways to revitalize regional entrepreneurship. These six organizations share the consensus that it is necessary to go beyond the existing metropolitan-centered entrepreneurial and venture ecosystem and plan to collectively identify and propose tasks for the revitalization of local entrepreneurship.
Opportunities for attracting investment in local startups will be provided through a joint investor presentation (IR) and one-on-one meetings with investors. The investor presentation will feature 16 promising local startups in fields such as AI, bio, and robotics, identified by the nationwide Creative Economy Innovation Centers, along with over 30 investment firms.
On this day, there will also be a specialized session on AI. Kim Seong-hoon, CEO of Upstage, who was selected as an elite team to develop a national AI and recently attracted an investment of 60 billion won, will give a special lecture on the topic of 'AI Trends and Global Expansion Strategies.'
Meanwhile, the Ministerial Meeting for Small and Medium Enterprises, taking place from September 1 to 5 in Jeju, has been organized with the theme 'Small and Medium Enterprises: The Drivers of Sustainable and Inclusive Growth' to discuss related key issues.
Minister Han Seong-suk said, 'It is significant that this 'JOIN 2025' event provides an opportunity for local startups to meet with domestic investors, large corporations, support organizations, and even major international partners,' and noted, 'The government will continue to expand capital, infrastructure, and networking environments to ensure sufficient opportunities for promising local startups.'