The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) and the Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC) have joined forces to develop an action plan to support domestic ventures and startups in their overseas expansion and growth into global unicorns. The plan is to combine KIC's capital strength and its network of world-class venture capital (VC) firms with KVIC's ability to identify promising startups, thereby backing successful overseas market entry by innovative domestic companies.
In a welcoming address at the "Korea Investment Corporation-Korea Venture Investment Corporation Cooperation Forum" held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Monday, KVIC CEO Lee Dae-hee said, "Supporting domestic startups' entry into overseas markets is a mission of our times." He stressed, "As technological innovation proceeds rapidly, it is time for domestic startups to go abroad and compete."
Presenters Yoon Hyo-hwan, head of KVIC's Global Division, and Heo Yoon-hyuk, head of KIC's Private Equity Investment Office, cited joint investor relations (IR) events for Korean startups targeting overseas VCs and joint capital contributions to venture funds run by top global VCs as concrete cooperation measures between the two institutions.
"If KVIC and KIC cooperate to contribute large-scale funding, more renowned VCs will accept our capital and expand their investment in Korean startups," Yoon said. "The two institutions will serve as a bridge that connects their overseas networks and capital to promising domestic startups."
"If KVIC discovers next-generation unicorn candidate companies, we can use KIC's global VC network to pursue joint IR and networking," Heo said. "We will help domestic startups broaden their contact with excellent overseas investors and secure opportunities for global growth."
In the panel discussion that followed, calls emerged for institutional improvements to smoothly support domestic startups expanding overseas. Choi Ji-young, CEO of the Korea Startup Forum, stressed, "We must now regard Korean-affiliated startups growing overseas as part of our venture ecosystem." She added, "For smooth support, we need to newly establish the concept and criteria for global expansion."
Kang Shin-chun, director of the venture investment division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Through legal amendments, we are supporting companies founded overseas and operating a global TIPS program, so the policy direction is moving toward expanding support for overseas expansion." He added, "The government will also help startups expanding abroad through continuous institutional improvements so as not to fall behind the trend."
