The Korea Small Business Institute will hold the second Innovation Venture Forum on Sept. 4 at the Korea Exchange (KRX) conference hall in Yeouido, Seoul.
The forum is co-hosted by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises and supported by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Exchange (KRX), and the Korea Venture Capital Association.
The theme of the forum is "A KOSDAQ sought by all — a capital market where innovative small but strong companies and investors grow together." It will focus on how the KOSDAQ market, marking its 30th anniversary this year, should shift its structure to restore its original role as a growth channel for innovative small and venture companies.
In particular, the forum will assess the market-wide structure—from KOSDAQ listing entry to listing maintenance and delisting, and institutional investor participation—based on empirical academic research. Through this, it plans to seek policy tasks that can help innovative companies and investors grow together and bolster trust in the market.
In the first presentation, Chung Jun-hyeok, a professor at Seoul National University School of Law, will present on "Measures to vitalize the KOSDAQ market as an innovation market." Chung will review the systems and competitive landscape that major-country exchanges are pursuing to attract innovative companies and will propose directions to improve the domestic KOSDAQ system.
Next, Kang Hyeong-gu, a professor at Hanyang University, will examine how strong small and venture companies prepare for listings and choose their paths through international comparisons and domestic empirical analysis. Choi Young-geun, a professor at Sangmyung University, will diagnose the difficulties that KOSDAQ-listed small companies face in the processes of maintaining listings and delisting and will propose related policy tasks.
The general discussion will be chaired by Seoul National University professor Yoo Byung-joon. Market participants including the Korea Exchange (KRX), Hana Asset Management, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, the Venture Business Association, the Korea Venture Capital Association, and the KOSDAQ Association will discuss topics such as strengthened delisting rules and market trust, listing systems tailored to company characteristics, and prerequisites for attracting institutional funds.
Awards ceremonies for the Entrepreneurship Grand Prize and the Win-Win Management Grand Prize will also be held.
Park Kyung-min, president of the Korea Small Business Institute, said, "Only when the market properly discovers the value created by innovative companies and the fruits of that growth are distributed and spread to investors and the public will KOSDAQ become what everyone seeks," adding, "We expect this forum to be a starting point to verify, based on evidence, the direction of KOSDAQ's structural shift and to find answers for a capital market where companies and investors grow together."