Following intense parliamentary scrutiny over technology protection and policy execution, Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) is steering toward a new growth chapter. Minister Han Seong-sook outlined a reform roadmap centered on AI, deep-tech, and youth-driven entrepreneurship — signaling that Korea’s next “Venture Boom” will hinge not on subsidies, but on scalable innovation and balanced regional opportunity.

MSS Outlines Post-Audit Strategy for Startup-Led Growth

Speaking at the October 14 parliamentary audit, Minister Han Seong-sook revealed that Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups would concentrate its resources on building a more resilient, innovation-driven economy through AI transformation, deep-tech entrepreneurship, and regional venture capital expansion.

She reaffirmed Korea’s ambition to become one of the world’s top four venture nations, describing the next phase as “the Third Venture Boom,” as once shared during Youth Startup Imagination Concert.

Key priorities include:

• AI and deep-tech commercialization: Launching the Next Unicorn Project to provide growth-stage funding and technical validation for emerging innovators.
• Youth entrepreneurship: Advancing the Startup Rookie Project to discover and nurture over 1,000 young founders each year.
• Global expansion: Establishing a Startup & Venture Campus in Silicon Valley to connect Korean founders with U.S. investors and research partners.
• Regional equity: Creating at least one regional venture mother fund in all 14 non-capital provinces by 2030, addressing the concentration of capital in the Seoul metropolitan area.

AI, Deep Tech, and Smart Manufacturing Take Center Stage of MSS Venture Policy Reform

Further in her explanation, Minister Han Seong-sook emphasized that future competitiveness depends on bridging Korea’s technology capability with real-world productivity gains.

The ministry will inject KRW 1.3 trillion from the Fund of Funds to form KRW 2.6 trillion into new venture funds, alongside a KRW 350 billion supplementary budget to accelerate AI commercialization and proof-of-concept initiatives.

Regarding manufacturing SMEs, the MSS will introduce “Smart Manufacturing 3.0,” building on earlier smart-factory programs to advance digital (DX) and AI (AX) transformations across industrial supply chains.

Minister Han Seong-sook also noted that SME R&D investment has been restored to a record KRW 2.2 trillion, reversing previous cuts and reflecting a shift toward “profit-driven R&D” designed to increase commercialization success rates.

Minister Han’s Vision: AI, Youth, and Regions as Pillars of the Third Venture Boom

During the 2025 National Audit on October 14, Minister Han Seong-sook further announced a deliberate policy reorientation: from short-term stimulus toward long-term innovation capacity.

The ministry aims to align startup policy, manufacturing modernization, and human-capital investment to ensure that emerging founders outside the capital region can access the same funding and mentorship as their Seoul counterparts.

This approach includes partnerships with science and technology universities to develop regional talent pipelines and the expansion of accelerator- and VC-led “venture studio” models to improve early-stage incubation quality.

The minister then declared,

“We will make small-business recovery our top priority and complete Korea’s industrial transformation centered on AI and deep tech.”

Turning 2025 National Audit Pressure into Reform Momentum

The new measures represent the government’s direct response to issues revealed during the 2025 National Audit — especially the excessive capital concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and weak enforcement in technology protection.

By introducing regional venture funds and AI-centered industry programs, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups aims to transform legislative criticism into tangible reform.

Across the innovation ecosystem, this renewed focus on young founders and smart manufacturing marks a structural shift — one designed to build a steady stream of globally competitive startups capable of sustaining Korea’s leadership beyond semiconductors and digital platforms.

MSS at 2025 National Audit: From Policy Repair to Reinvention

Finally, as Korea’s startup ecosystem moves into a defining stage, the MSS’s post-audit roadmap blends accountability with strategic ambition. The success of these reforms will determine whether Korea achieves a genuine “Third Venture Boom,” powered by AI, deep tech, and inclusive regional growth.

Startups, investors, and policymakers now face the same test — turning this policy vision into results that can be measured in real growth and competitiveness. Because now, Korea’s innovation strategy is no longer about recovery — it is about reinvention.

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