The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 10th that it hosted the 2025 Youth Startup Blooming Day at the Hannam University Campus Innovation Park in Daejeon.
Youth Startup Blooming Day is the seventh policy field tour in the startup and venture sector arranged to reflect voices from the startup scene in policy. More than 200 members of the startup ecosystem related to youth entrepreneurship, including senior young founders, early-stage youth startup corporations, startup support institutions, and young prospective founders, gathered in one place.
The event will be held over two days on the 10th and 11th, and is composed of various programs to vitalize regional youth startups, including the Youth Startup Talk Concert with participation from the government, youth startup corporations, and startup support institutions; the University Startup Idea Challenge with 21 university startup club teams; the Startup-Centered University RISE Policy Seminar to enhance the role of startup-centered universities as regional startup hubs; and an investment IR for startup corporations.
The Youth Startup Talk Concert held that day was conducted in an interactive communication format that shared difficulties experienced during the actual startup process and how they were overcome, offered advice for young prospective founders, and directly answered questions youth are curious about. Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok, senior founders, CEOs of early-stage youth startup corporations, and startup support institutions joined as panelists.
In particular, the talk concert also introduced the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' policy direction for promoting the youth startup ecosystem. The ministry said it will build a youth startup safety net so that young people can try again even if they fail, foster innovative young founders with a focus on deep tech and global fields, and expand startup hubs for regional youth.
Meanwhile, 80 startup club teams that submitted innovative ideas to solve regional issues took part in the University Startup Idea Challenge. Finalists were selected through regional preliminaries centered on startup-centered universities in each zone. The top eight teams determined through the finals evaluation that day received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award and the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) President's Award, along with up to 3 million won in prize money and opportunities for follow-up commercialization support.
Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok said, "We will lower entry barriers so that young people can feel secure in taking on startup challenges, and strengthen tailored support so prepared founders can grow," adding, "Based on the voices of young founders at the startup scene, we will elaborate future youth startup policies."