COVID-19 has created a slump in employment everywhere in the world and even in South Korea. However, the slowdown has not deterred young Koreans, as they choose entrepreneurship amidst a sluggish job market, says data. Also, the Korean government and corporates are introducing a number of startup incubation programs. The Venture Capital fund influx is also on the rise for startups in the country. More in the news is Musinsa; the fashion unicorn startup, has signed all agreements for the acquisition of Styleshare and 29CM.
More young people start businesses amid sluggish job market: data
Source: Korea Herald
As the local job market has remained in limbo due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of South Koreans in their 20s have started their own businesses, data showed Wednesday. According to data compiled by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, a total of 449,000 startups were launched by individuals between January and April amid a feeble employment market.
Of the total, people aged 30 and under opened 59,000 enterprises during the cited period, up nearly 20 percent on-year, while the companies of those in their 30s saw a 5.6 percent increase. However, the number of new businesses set up by people in their 40s and 50s sharply decreased by 11.9 percent and 24.4 percent from a year earlier, respectively.
Investment in South Korean Startups Continuing to Increase
Source: Business Korea
Startup Alliance reported on July 8 that a total of 108 investments that add up to 1,195.9 billion won were made in South Korean startups last month. The actual total investment is estimated at over 1.2 trillion won in that some startups are yet to make their data public.
In May, 82 startups attracted an investment of 1,110.2 billion won and the monthly investment exceeded one trillion won for the first time ever.
Last month, the figures more than doubled from 52 and surged almost 10-fold from 122.58 billion won compared to the same month of 2020. In addition, as many as 26 startups attracted an investment of at least 10 billion won each. Especially, the new investment in the financial sector was as large as 486.4 billion won.
Ministry of SMEs and Startups, SK Innovation, Naver Cloud, CJ to foster startup companies
Source: PlatumÂ
The startup support program in the leaping phase has been started by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups with SK Innovation, Naver Cloud, and CJ. The ‘Startup Leap Package Conglomerate Collaboration Program’ supports the growth of startups in the leap phase within 3 to 7 years of founding.
It provides comprehensive support using the commercialization funds of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the infrastructure of large companies.  Selected start-ups receive up to 300 million won in commercialization funds from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and a growth support package (education/consulting, infrastructure, sales channels, investment attraction, etc.) of large enterprises. Startups in the leap stage wishing to participate in the ‘Startup Leap Package Conglomerate Collaboration Program’ can apply online from July 6 to July 28 through the ‘ K-Startup website ‘.
IBK Industrial Bank fosters 62 innovative startups in Mapo, Guro, and Busan
Source: Money Today
IBK Industrial Bank of Korea announced on the July 6th that it will finally select ‘IBK Changgong’ innovative startup companies in the second half of this year and start supporting startup incubation programs for five months in Mapo, Guro, and Busan.
According to the Industrial Bank of 600 Out of the more than one start-up support of about 9.4 through the competition for one of the final 62 companies (7 Mapo group 22 dogs, 6 port groups of 20 dogs, 05 Busan 20 were selected Dog). The selected companies were mostly knowledge service ( 34 %) and information communication ( 27 %) fields such as Metaverse and MyData.
Selected companies participate in programs tailored to each company after preliminary diagnosis and evaluation. In addition, it supports close mentoring consisting of professional consultants, dedicated mentors/managers, and external experts. In addition to the investment and loan financial services of IBK Financial Group , it plans to support various non-financial services such as demo day, IR , office space, market development, and public relations support.
Musinsa signed a main contract to acquire StyleShare and 29CM
Source: Venture Square
Online fashion platform  Musinsa announced that it has decided to take over the management rights of StyleShare and 29CM. Musinsa signed a stock purchase agreement (SPA) to secure 100% of StyleShare’s shares and a comprehensive stock exchange agreement . The acquisition price is  300 billion won.
Musinsa plans to officially incorporate StyleShare and 29CM after the Fair Trade Commission approves the business combination review.  StyleShare is a fashion information community. It is a platform that actively exchanges fashion information , with more than  300,000 users per day producing, consuming , and  sharing content on average .
