Venture & Startups: Core Driver of National Growth Strategy

The government announced the 'Comprehensive Measures for Becoming a Top 4 Venture Powerhouse' to overcome the structural crisis of demographic decline and decelerating growth, bringing venture to the forefront as a key national growth strategy. Having once again brought out the venture card after the 1997 financial crisis, the government aims to achieve 10,000 AI and deep tech startups, 50 unicorns and decacorns, and 40 trillion won in annual venture investment by 2030. These measures encompass 15 tasks centered around four major pillars: technology, region, talent, and investment. **Technology Innovation:** Focusing on fostering six strategic industries (ABCDEF: AI, Bio, Contents, Defense, Energy, Factory) including AI and bio, and strategically allocating approximately 50,000 GPUs to ventures and startups. Through the 'Next-Generation Unicorn Discovery and Nurturing Project,' up to 100 billion won will be supported per company, with a total of 13.5 trillion won invested by 2030. To pioneer global markets, venture campuses will be established in major cities like Silicon Valley, and public procurement of products from startups will be expanded to include venture companies. **Regional Balance:** To alleviate the concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, 10 regional startup cities will be created centered around '5 poles and 3 special zones,' and up to 50% of TIPS selections will be preferentially allocated to regional companies. Using the Mother Fund as a priming pump, a 3.5 trillion won regional growth fund will be established, and a 1 trillion won re-challenge fund will be created to strengthen the safety net for those restarting businesses, with expanded limitations on joint liability. **Talent Inflow:** To attract excellent talent to ventures, the limit for stock options granted below market price will be expanded to 2 billion won, and they can be granted solely by board resolution. The scope of recognized venture companies will be expanded to include mid-sized enterprises, and the multiple voting rights system will be rationalized. 1,000 prospective entrepreneurs will be identified annually, and 100 startup rookies will receive focused support, and entrepreneurship will be spread through the legalization of 'Venture Week' and the establishment of the 'Venture Hall of Fame.' **Venture Investment:** Branding itself as 'Mother Fund 2.0,' a national account exclusively for pension funds will be established, and the Mother Fund will preferentially bear losses to encourage private capital inflow. Financial regulations will be reformed to be venture-friendly, including easing restrictions on bank venture investments and relaxing regulations on CVC's external fundraising and overseas investments. The tax credit rate for corporate investments in venture mother funds will be expanded, and M&A guarantees will be expanded to 200 billion won by 2030 to revitalize the exit market. The industry unanimously welcomed these measures, but bridging the gap between policy direction and legislative reality was pointed out as the key task for ensuring effectiveness.