The United States has long been a land of opportunity for Korean companies, and it seems like the recent visit of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s to the US to mark the 70th anniversary of the ROK-US alliance was no exception. During the tour, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that they are in the process of attracting investments worth 84.5 billion won ($73.6 million) for 15 Korean startups. According to the Ministry, 38 global venture capital (VC) companies participated in an investment attraction event for 15 domestic startups held in Boston on April 28th.
Startups such as Medipixel, Huinno, Seoul Robotics, Gopizza, and Roboarte met with global VCs Adams Street and StepStone to conduct IR and one-on-one consultations. Discussions on attracting investment of 84.5 billion won ($73.6 million) are underway following discussions that led to video consultation before departure, pre-consultation the day before the event, and main consultation on the day of the event. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ policy is to lead to actual investment attraction and additional investment through follow-up consultation.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups also established a cooperative relationship with the ‘Boston-Cambridge Cluster,’ which produced Moderna and Boston Dynamics, for the ‘K-Bio Lab Hub’ to be created in Songdo, Incheon by 2025. In addition, on April 25th, a networking dinner was held in Washington to encourage economic missions and small and medium-sized businesses entering the local market. The Ministry reported that six MOUs between companies were signed at this meeting, including technology exports worth up to 500 billion won ($436.6 million).
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups also made the achievement of concluding business agreements related to the global certification agency ‘UL Solutions.’ As a follow-up measure, the ‘Global Innovation Special Zone Creation Plan’ is planned to be announced in the near future.
Cho Joo-hyun, vice minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “The United States is a land of opportunity for Korean companies.” He added that an investment attraction of 84.5 billion won ($73.6 million) is being discussed as a result of the startup investment consultation held on the occasion of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s recent visit to the United States. With successful consultations with global VCs and established relationships with US companies, the Ministry hopes to advance Korean startups into the US market and foster innovation in various industries.
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