The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) said on the 10th that they held the 2025 startup accelerator growth summit as a side event of Comeup, the country's largest startup event, at Coex in Seoul.
The event was prepared to select and reward startup accelerators (AC) that have led the growth of early-stage startups, venture capital (VC) firms with strong financial soundness, and VCs that faithfully carried out self-regulation.
In the AC institutional sector of the year, five institutions received the MSS Minister's Award based on a comprehensive evaluation of startup selection, fund formation, investment and exit performance, and satisfaction of portfolio companies: ▲ Pohang University of Science and Technology Technology Holdings ▲ Seoul National University Technology Holdings ▲ Gangwon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation ▲ JNP Global ▲ Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation.
In the VC institutional sector, based on criteria including financial statements, fund operations, personnel and internal control systems, and portfolio company satisfaction, ▲ Intervest ▲ Komes Investment ▲ Woori Venture Partners ▲ SBVA ▲ EcoPro Partners were selected as excellent institutions and received the MSS Minister's Award.
Awards were also given for the "self-regulation assessment," introduced for the first time this year. The system aims to spread a culture of voluntary compliance with regulations in the venture investment industry. Two firms—IM Investment Partners and Xquared—were recognized by the Korea Venture Capital Association for their high contribution to enhancing soundness and received commendations from the MSS Minister.
Since the introduction of the startup accelerator system in 2016, the 500th institution to apply for accelerator registration also emerged. Three institutions—Ewha Womans University Technology Holdings, Alcove Korea, and Spark Bio Lab—received registration certificates in the name of the MSS Minister as the "500th AC."
Kim Bong-deok, MSS director general for venture policy, said, "This event is meaningful in that it rewards startup accelerators and venture capital firms that achieved excellent results over the year and announces that the number of accelerators has surpassed 500 along with the growth of the venture ecosystem," adding, "We will work to ensure the accelerator system can lead innovation in the venture ecosystem."