SME Ministry Hosts 'Open Talk' for Aspiring & Early Founders, Gathers Field Feedback

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) prepared a special communication platform to listen to the voices of preliminary and early-stage entrepreneurs, known as 'Startup Rookies,' who will lead future innovation. The 'Startup Rookie Open Talk' was successfully held at TIPSTOWN S6 in Seoul, attended by over 100 Startup Rookies, investment firms, universities, and support organization officials. This event aimed to lay the groundwork for the 'Startup Rookie Leap Plan,' which the MSS will announce within the year, and embodies the will to reflect the vivid demands from the field into policy. It is the tenth in a series of startup and venture sector relay discussions that the MSS has held since August this year and is deeply significant as it focused on the actual voices of early-stage startups, who are the policy beneficiaries. Six Startup Rookies from diverse fields such as AI, bio, and mobile games participated as panelists and openly shared the realistic difficulties faced by early-stage companies, including attracting investment, securing talent, global expansion, and complex regulations. In particular, specific policy proposals poured in, such as global linkage support after commercialization, improving access to complex policy information, and strengthening customized mentoring. In response, the MSS presented practical initiatives for the growth of Rookies, such as the audition-style 'Startup for All Project,' which lowers entry barriers so that anyone with an innovative idea can start a business, and the 'Startup One-Stop Support Center,' which resolves complex issues like legal, tax, and regulatory matters in one place. In the subsequent second part, a practical legal special lecture led by a lawyer who is also a former entrepreneur was held, imparting essential know-how for early-stage entrepreneurs, such as contract drafting and intellectual property protection. As a side event, mentoring and investment consultations by investment firms were also actively conducted. MSS Minister Han Sung-sook emphasized that "the voices of Rookies taking their first steps in entrepreneurship are precisely the starting point of government policy" and promised to prepare tangible support measures that reflect the voices from the field. The MSS plans to thoroughly review all policy initiatives proposed on this day and primarily reflect them in the 'Comprehensive Measures for Becoming One of the Top 4 Startup and Venture Nations' to be unveiled within the year. The government's steps to support the vigorous leap of Startup Rookies who will lead the future of South Korea are expected to accelerate.