Seoul Metropolitan Government Seeks 21 Fintech Startups, Including Prospective Founders

[Financial News] Seoul Metropolitan Government is seeking 21 promising companies to move into the 2nd Seoul Fintech Lab, which supports the launch and growth of early-stage fintech companies. Starting this year, eligibility has been expanded to include prospective founders to help promising ideas become businesses. Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 21st that it will accept applications from the 22nd through November 2 for new resident companies at the 2nd Seoul Fintech Lab in 2027.
Approximately 21 companies will be selected: nine resident companies that will receive independent office space and 12 membership companies that will use open-plan workstations.
Resident companies must be incorporated fintech companies established within three years and with cumulative investment of no more than KRW 2 billion. The basic residency period is one year, with the possibility of extending it to a maximum of three years following an evaluation. Membership companies may include fintech and blockchain companies established within seven years, as well as prospective founders who can establish a corporation within three months of moving in.
Selected companies will receive office space at the 2nd Seoul Fintech Lab in Gongdeok-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, along with support including professional mentoring, investment attraction, financial regulatory assistance, and entry into domestic and overseas markets. They will also have opportunities to be considered for direct investment by the operating organization and to join the Tech Incubator Program for Startup (TIPS), a private investment-led technology startup support program. Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to announce the final resident companies on November 13 after conducting written and in-person evaluations of applicants who applied through the 2nd Seoul Fintech Lab website.
Since opening in January 2023, the 2nd Seoul Fintech Lab has supported a cumulative total of 120 companies. The companies it supported have generated KRW 48.3 billion in cumulative sales, attracted KRW 14.6 billion in investment, and created 415 new jobs. Building on these achievements, Seoul ranked seventh worldwide—the city’s highest-ever position—in the fintech sector of the recently released Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI).
Kim Hyun-woo, director of economic affairs at Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, "We will provide active support so that early-stage companies and prospective founders with innovative technologies and ideas can establish themselves in the market and grow into global companies."

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