In the venture investment industry, concerns were raised that with the current venture fund maturity structure of around 10 years, it is difficult to fully support the growth of deep-tech corporations and the commercialization of their technologies.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Korea Venture Investment Corporation said on the 24th that they held the 2026 2nd Mother Fund Policy Forum at the Seoul Startup Venture Campus (SVC Seoul) and discussed the Mother Fund's management performance, future tasks, and directions for advancing the venture investment ecosystem.
The forum was attended by Mok Seung-hwan, director general for Startup Venture Innovation at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), and Lee Dae-hee, CEO of Korea Venture Investment Corporation, as well as officials from the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) industries and heads of ventures and startups.
The forum addressed the role of the Mother Fund and directions for institutional improvement under the theme of creating an ultra-long-term investment ecosystem for artificial intelligence (AI) and deep tech. Participants noted that as the shift to an AI-centered industrial structure accelerates, the current venture fund maturity structure, designed at around 10 years, has limits that induce investment recovery before technology commercialization.
They introduced cases of operating evergreen funds and continuation funds used in the United States and Europe and reviewed the feasibility of adopting them domestically.
An evergreen fund reinvests proceeds from exits and operates over a long period. A continuation fund is a method of creating a separate fund to extend the holding period of superior investment assets.
Participants agreed that policy support is needed, including introducing ultra-long-term funds and continuation funds within the Mother Fund, to activate long-term technology investment by large institutional investors such as pension funds and mutual aid associations.
They also exchanged views under the theme of spreading social value and revitalizing the social venture ecosystem. Participants evaluated the Mother Fund's track record of contributing to solving social problems and reached a consensus that venture investment should play a role in creating social value beyond financial performance. There was also an opinion that policy support should be expanded so that social ventures can smoothly raise the funds they need at growth stages.
In the ensuing discussion, the need to standardize the social venture certification system and the framework for measuring and verifying social value was raised. They also discussed ways to expand participation by private investors (LPs) by leveraging ESG funds and large corporations' social contribution programs.
Mok Seung-hwan, director general for Startup Venture Innovation at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "The Mother Fund has, over the past 20-some years, been a mainstay of Korea's venture ecosystem and has sown the seeds of innovative growth, and now is the time to seek an active role in social value and AI and deep-tech technological innovation," adding, "We will incorporate the on-the-ground feedback raised at today's forum to flesh out the Mother Fund's investment strategy for creating social value."
The Mother Fund Policy Forum is scheduled to be held quarterly throughout the year. Policy proposals and discussion outcomes raised at the forum will be reflected in diversifying future Mother Fund management strategies and improving the venture investment system.