Seoul contestant raises 200 million won and Gwangju contestant 100 million won within two months; patent application also filed
63,000 participants narrowed to 1,100 through a pool of 5,000; young people make up 64.9% and regional contestants 80.9%
Startup efforts that began with a single idea are leading to actual investments and patent applications. Contestants in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Startup for Everyone project have begun producing results in commercializing their ideas.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, led on an acting basis by First Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok, said on the 4th that it had selected 1,100 people to advance to the second round of the first Startup for Everyone project. The group includes 500 contestants in the general and technology tracks and 600 in the local track. They were selected through incubation and evaluation from an initial pool of 5,000 people chosen from 63,000 applicants.
The selection stands out because contestants have already produced tangible business results. About two months after joining the project, a contestant from Seoul secured a 200 million won investment from incubator CNT Tech after demonstrating growth potential in the AI operations management market.
Another contestant from Gwangju secured a 100 million won investment from the Gwangju Center for Creative Economy and Innovation after winning recognition for the technology and growth potential of a coreless motor. The contestant is also pursuing a link to the TIPS program based on the investment.
Another case led to a patent application. The youngest contestant, 15, proposed an integrated travel-planning platform focused on trips to rural areas and based on a refined review-crawling algorithm, and moved to file a patent.
The oldest contestant, 72, proposed developing energy sticks using noncommercial apples from Andong, North Gyeongsang province, and pursued intellectual property protection and consumer research.
Participants were not concentrated in any particular age group or region. People 39 and younger accounted for 64.9% of those advancing to the second round, while contestants ranged in age from 15 to 72. Regional contestants made up 80.9% of the total.
AI and technology stood out among the startup ideas. In the general and technology tracks, IT accounted for the largest share at 36.2%, followed by biotech and health care at 15.8% and lifestyle at 10.8%. AI-related keywords appeared in 43.2% of all applications. In the local track, lifestyle accounted for 45%, followed by food and beverage at 38.8% and beauty at 9.7%.
The ministry will provide the 1,100 second-round contestants with early-stage commercialization funding, mentoring, regulatory screening, advanced GPUs and agreement-based guarantee support.
It plans to hold nationwide briefing sessions starting on the 7th and select the final 200 contestants in December after regional and provincial auditions.
The Startup for Everyone Community for prospective and early-stage entrepreneurs will also begin operating on the 10th. Senior entrepreneurs, including Jang Min-hong, a partner at CarbonBlack, and Lee Dong-gun, CEO of MyRealTrip, will take part and share their experiences and insights with aspiring founders.
“This is a deeply meaningful project that has proved anyone can take on entrepreneurship with nothing more than a small idea or a sense of a problem in everyday life, even without groundbreaking technology or impressive credentials,” Noh Yong-seok, the ministry’s first vice minister, said. “We will provide every possible form of support so the people selected through Startup for Everyone can grow into innovative companies with a competitive edge in the market.”
#Ministry of SMEs and Startups#Noh Yong-seok#acting first vice minister#Startup for Everyone#investment#patent#AI operations management#Park Yong-jun#credentials#idea
