The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said on the 22nd that it held a "regional growth fund roundtable" at the MSS government complex in Sejong with 14 metropolitan local governments outside the greater Seoul area. More than 40 people attended, including the Directors and Heads of Team in charge of startups and ventures at the 14 metropolitan governments and the head of the regional innovation division at Korea Venture Investment Corporation.
The roundtable was arranged to share the operating direction over the next five years of the "regional growth fund," a key task in the "comprehensive plan to leap to a top four venture powerhouse" released on the 18th in a joint effort by related ministries, and to discuss ways to revitalize local governments and regional venture investment ecosystems.
The regional growth fund is a regional venture fund of funds that invests in sub-funds focused on the regions, with the parent fund serving as seed money and contributions coming from local communities and the private sector together. Over the next five years, it will raise 2 trillion won for the fund of funds and 3.5 trillion won for sub-funds, and plans to establish at least one fund of funds in each of the 14 metropolitan governments outside the greater Seoul area.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to reflect the opinions of local governments discussed at the roundtable in the "regional growth fund creation plan (tentative title)" to be released early next year.
Kim Bong-deok, venture policy director at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "We are designing the detailed structure of the regional growth fund under two goals: regional balance in the venture ecosystem and fostering the first unicorns from the regions," adding, "We will continue to identify ways to spread Korea's venture capabilities, currently concentrated in the greater Seoul area, across all non-capital regions."