Korea Startup Forum (KOSPO), the country’s largest startup alliance, has nominated Elice Group CEO Kim Jaewon as its next chairperson. The move signals a pivotal transition in Korea’s innovation governance, blending startup policy reform with industrial AI transformation. As KOSPO celebrates its 10th anniversary, the leadership shift underscores the forum’s expanding role in shaping Korea’s next-generation startup strategy and global competitiveness.
KOSPO Names Elice Group CEO Kim Jaewon as 5th Chairperson Candidate
During its first 2026 board meeting held on January 21 at Tipstown S6 in Seoul’s Gangnam District, KOSPO’s board members voted to nominate Kim Jaewon, CEO of Elice Group, as the candidate for the forum’s fifth chairperson.
Current Chairperson Han Sang-woo, who had considered a second term, withdrew his candidacy ahead of the vote, making Kim the sole nominee. The final appointment will be confirmed at the upcoming general assembly on February 26, 2026.
The session was attended by over 20 members, including Han and Executive Director Choi Ji-young, who also reviewed 2025 performance metrics and strategic priorities for the new year.
Background & Context: 10th Anniversary and Strategic Shift of Korea Startup Forum
Marking its 10th anniversary, Korea Startup Forum (KOSPO) outlined an ambitious agenda to transform into a platform organization that connects policy, industry, global networks, and startup culture into a unified ecosystem. The initiative reflects an awareness of Korea’s increasingly complex startup environment and the need for integrated policy mechanisms to support cross-sector growth.
The forum’s new mission—“The problem-solving platform startups seek first”—positions it as both a voice and bridge for the innovation community.
To deliver this mission, KOSPO established a four-pillar plan:
- Permanent cooperation frameworks with government ministries, the National Assembly, and policy regulators.
- Broader entrepreneurial culture to normalize risk-taking and early-stage growth.
- Global founder networks connecting Korean startups to overseas partners and investors.
- AI Transformation (AX) and deep-tech execution frameworks for new industries.
This strategic pivot arrives at a time when Korea is intensifying efforts to become one of the world’s top four venture powerhouses, aligning startup governance with global competitiveness and industrial AI acceleration.
Stakeholder Statements: KOSPO Remains Execution-Driven
Chairperson Han Sang-woo remarked that KOSPO will continue to evolve as an “execution-driven” organization:
“KOSPO will link policy, global, AI, and community into a single continuous flow. As the first problem-solving platform startups turn to, we will move beyond facilitation to defining and solving problems directly.”
Industry observers note that the Elice Group’s leadership appointment reflects this evolution. Under Kim’s leadership, Elice has grown from an AI education startup into a multi-sector AI company driving both digital learning and industrial transformation.
Founded in 2015 by KAIST PhD researchers, Elice has pioneered Korea’s AI education platforms and recently secured recognition under the Scale-Up TIPS program to expand into industrial AI infrastructure—an area directly aligned with Korea’s AI Transformation (AX) national policy.
Ecosystem Significance: Leadership Shift Reflects Korea’s Policy Direction
Kim Jaewon’s upcoming leadership represents more than a personnel change—it symbolizes a generational and policy realignment within Korea’s innovation ecosystem.
Elice Group’s trajectory exemplifies this policy-driven shift. The company’s AI education platform, once developed for Korea’s public classrooms, was effectively barred from domestic deployment after policy reversals. The same technology later found adoption in Singapore’s national digital curriculum initiative, while in Korea, Elice refocused toward industrial AI under the Scale-Up TIPS program.
This redirection reflects both Korea’s industrial policy priorities and the adaptive resilience of its startups. Ironically, the company that once faced regulatory barriers in education now stands at the center of Korea’s startup policy landscape, with its CEO poised to lead the nation’s largest startup coalition.
Kim’s policy-oriented background and cross-sector AI expertise suggest KOSPO’s next chapter will focus on deepening industry-policy integration, scaling Korea’s AI transformation, and ensuring startups remain central to national innovation strategies.
Meanwhile KOSPO itself, which serves as the country’s largest private startup network, has increasingly become a hub for policy advocacy and industrial innovation coordination. The organization played a visible role in shaping regulatory debates around emerging industries, such as telemedicine, legal tech, and climate tech, and launched Korea’s first private-led AI think tank in 2025.
Its growing collaboration with big tech players like Naver, as well as its international outreach through initiatives such as COMEUP Global and The Pitch, further emphasize its positioning as a bridge between startups, policy, and capital markets.
KOSPO’s Future Outlook: Policy-anchored and Execution-Driven
The leadership transition of Korea Startup Forum marks a structural inflection point in Korea’s startup governance. With Kim Jaewon expected to take the helm, KOSPO is shifting toward a more policy-anchored, execution-driven model—one that positions startups not merely as recipients of regulation but as architects of Korea’s innovation policy framework.
The next phase of KOSPO’s evolution will likely test how effectively Korea can align its industrial AI ambitions with inclusive startup participation—a challenge that will define whether the nation’s venture ecosystem can sustain its global momentum beyond 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Kim Jaewon, CEO of Elice Group, nominated as fifth chairperson of Korea Startup Forum; final confirmation on February 26, 2026.
- KOSPO’s 10th anniversary marks a shift toward policy-driven, execution-oriented innovation governance.
- The forum plans to connect policy, global, AI, and community as an integrated platform.
- Reflects Korea’s national strategy to become a Top 4 global venture powerhouse under its AI Transformation (AX) vision.
- Elice’s evolution from AI education to industrial AI underscores the alignment of startup leadership with national deep-tech policy.
- The move positions KOSPO as a policy hub for startups, strengthening Korea’s role in the global innovation ecosystem.
- Elice Group’s journey—from barred domestic AI education deployment to industrial AI leadership—illustrates how Korea’s shifting policy priorities can redirect innovation yet foster new opportunities for resilient startups.
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