The Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED), a public institution under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, was found to have conducted a survey on providing "living expenses" to young people during the startup preparation period. Some say the move goes beyond gauging policy demand and is an attempt to build a case for a cash handout program.
According to the "survey on funds for young startup challengers" obtained by ChosunBiz from the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kang Seung-gyu on the 19th, the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) conducted a survey by email from the 21st to the 29th of last month of about 275,000 people age 39 or younger among members of the K-Startup website. There were 2,195 total respondents, for a response rate of about 0.8%.
The survey, which consisted of 24 questions including basic and branching items, was structured to collect responses supporting the need for cash assistance. After presenting income gaps and the burden of living expenses during the startup preparation process as major obstacles, it focused on asking about willingness to apply for and the expected effects of a "young startup challenger fund" that would provide 600,000 won per month for nine months.
Nine of the 24 questions focused on verifying the effects of living-expense support and the startup challenger fund. Questions premised on policy effects were also included, such as "If there is living-expense support, are you willing to actively pursue startup preparation?", "If the young startup challenger fund is introduced, will you apply?", and "Will the likelihood of launching a startup increase?"
Of respondents, 92.5% said they would be willing to apply if the young startup challenger fund is introduced. Separately, 70.8% said it would help with startup preparation and market validation activities, and 82.9% said it would increase the likelihood of launching a startup.
Some interpret the survey as an effort to build justification for formulating next year's budget plan. To secure funding, demand for the program must be identified, and the survey was effectively structured to collect responses supporting the need for the startup challenger fund.
While many said they would apply if the program were implemented, there were also reactions that living-expense support centered on the government is inappropriate for reasons related to startups. In a question on the limits of existing startup support programs, 32.1% of respondents answered, "In the early stages of a startup, support for business expenses is more important than living expenses."
Some respondents wrote, "I don't think indiscriminate cash handouts will lead to effective startup creation. Support is already overflowing," and "Startup creation is not even a basic right, so why should living expenses be paid with taxes to cover startup founders' income gaps?"
The responsible ministry, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "We are giving a lot of thought to providing opportunities for startups," adding, "There is nothing specific to say yet, and no budget of a similar nature has been allocated."
Lawmaker Kang Seung-gyu said, "The idea of covering living expenses with taxpayers' money—an approach that even survey participants pointed out as inappropriate—lacks policy legitimacy," adding, "Reckless cash-based policies that dilute the essence of startup policy are nothing more than a shallow attempt to rack up achievements in step with the Lee Jae-myung administration's populist line."