The Ministry of SMEs and Startups visited the space and aviation deep-tech promising corporation INNOSPACE on the 16th and held a roundtable with major listed venture corporations in the Daejeon and North Chungcheong regions.
This on-site visit was pursued to reflect a trend in which the corporate value of private space corporations is being reappraised in global capital markets. In particular, as news of SpaceX seeking a Nasdaq listing draws the attention of investors worldwide, the government determined it needed to review the scale-up strategies of domestic deep-tech venture corporations and their preparations for listing.
INNOSPACE, visited that day, is a venture corporation in North Chungcheong that develops space launch vehicles based on hybrid rocket technology. The corporation is being assessed as emerging as a key player in the "New Space" era, a trend of restructuring the space industry led by the private sector.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) inspected the launch vehicle development site in person and reviewed the level of technology sophistication and trends in overseas market entry. Citing cases of large-scale investment attracted by global space corporations, the discussion focused on ways for domestic space and aviation venture corporations to secure competitiveness in global capital markets.
At the subsequent roundtable with listed venture corporations in the Daejeon–North Chungcheong area, deep-tech corporations in sectors such as bio and secondary batteries raised difficulties they face before and after listing. The corporations identified challenges in securing top talent and a lack of long-term investment bases suited to the characteristics of the deep-tech industry as major issues. They particularly stressed that, although venture corporations outside the Seoul metropolitan area possess technological prowess and growth potential, the legal and institutional bases to systematically foster them are inadequate.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to accelerate policy improvements on the occasion of this roundtable. It will advance support policies that span the entire growth cycle of venture corporations, including: ▲ supporting sustainable innovative growth of corporations before and after listing ▲ building long-term investment bases for deep-tech corporations ▲ structurally expanding regional venture ecosystems.
Minister Han Seong-sook said, "For venture corporations that have moved beyond the startup stage, listing is another starting point and an important opportunity to leap into the global market," adding, "The government will strengthen the policy foundation so they can grow stably across the entire cycle, from before listing to after, based on vivid feedback from the field."