South Korea to nearly double startup budget to W1.9tr next year

The government plans to channel nearly 2 trillion won ($1.46 billion) into startup support next year, aiming to usher in what it calls a "national startup era" by strengthening step-by-step assistance — from a first-time founder's initial attempt to a failed entrepreneur's comeback, and from regional startups to the scaling of promising ventures.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Thursday, next year's startup budget stands at 1.91 trillion won, an 80 percent increase from this year's 1.06 trillion won. The ministry plans to concentrate support across three areas: talent investment, regional innovation and market linkage.

The largest share of the budget — 955.8 billion won — goes toward talent investment, with the goal of widening access to entrepreneurship itself. The centerpiece of the shift is moving beyond support for companies already up and running, extending the safety net to cover both first-time founders with nothing more than an idea and entrepreneurs who have experienced failure and want to try again.

The flagship initiative is "Everyone's Startup," a program designed to lower the threshold so that anyone with an idea can take the plunge. Rather than limiting assistance to businesses with an established model, the ministry will seek out potential founders still at the idea stage and help them turn concepts into actual ventures.

Support for entrepreneurs bouncing back from failure is also being reinforced. With business closures now running at roughly 1 million a year, the ministry sees growing demand for second-chance assistance and plans to build a re-startup support framework through its small and medium-sized enterprise recovery program. The aim is to ensure that the experience and know-how accumulated during a first attempt are not wasted but channeled into a new venture.

Tailored support by age and background will also be strengthened. A new "Youth Startup Package" will be introduced for younger founders, and the network of startup-focused universities supporting campus-based entrepreneurship will be expanded. A separate "Career Startup Support" program will be launched for middle-aged founders, connecting the expertise and professional experience they have built in industry and the workplace to new business creation — laying the groundwork for every generation, from young adults to those in their 40s and 50s, to take a shot at starting a company.

Spreading startup opportunities beyond Greater Seoul is another pillar of next year's policy. The ministry will allocate 252.9 billion won to regional innovation, with the goal of building an environment where startups can be born and grow outside the capital region.

Central to that effort is the expansion of designated "startup cities." The number of supported cities will grow from four this year to 10 next year. Each city will be encouraged to leverage its own industrial strengths and local talent to cultivate an ecosystem where startups can take root and scale up without leaving the region.

Support tailored to regional manufacturing will also be reinforced. The ministry plans to expand manufacturing-focused startup assistance and create shared spaces where startups and other entrepreneurial players can network and collaborate. By strengthening ties between new ventures and the existing industrial base in each region, the ministry aims to give locally founded companies the sustained backing they need to keep growing.

The ministry is also building out a "growth ladder" to help startups that have found their footing scale into larger enterprises. Some 448.3 billion won will go toward market linkage, with an emphasis on connecting support that was previously fragmented across individual programs and deepening collaboration with the private sector.

Open innovation between leading domestic and foreign companies and startups will be expanded. The ministry plans to link the technology, demand and distribution channels held by established firms with the innovative capabilities of startups, creating more opportunities for technology validation and commercialization. Partnerships with global companies will also be broadened to give Korean startups more entry points into overseas markets.

For deep tech startups in particular, the ministry is building a growth ladder running from TIPS to the super-gap project to Unicorn Bridge. TIPS is a program in which private investors identify and back promising startups while the government provides linked support for research and development and commercialization. The super-gap project is designed to sharpen the technological competitiveness of startups in emerging industries, after which Unicorn Bridge steps in to support the scaling of companies with high growth potential.

Next year's startup policy centers on two priorities: broadening the base of entrepreneurship and accelerating growth. The ministry aims to open up startup opportunities to anyone with an idea, give failed founders a path back, extend the startup infrastructure beyond Greater Seoul, and connect proven companies to follow-on support.

"We focused on widening the opportunity to try starting a business and creating an environment where startups can grow even outside the capital region," a ministry official said. "We will link stage-by-stage support — from the earliest days of a startup through scaling up and entering global markets — to help promising companies grow."