Chuncheon to represent Gangwon State in Startup City bid; 60 billion won over four years if selected

【Financial News, Chuncheon = Reporter Kim Gi-seop】Chuncheon is entering the government’s Startup City competition to represent Gangwon State, with 60 billion won at stake over four years.
According to Gangwon State and Chuncheon on the 6th, Gangwon State selected Chuncheon on the 3rd as its representative city for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Startup City Development Project, following deliberations by a selection evaluation committee made up of external members. Wonju-si and Gangneung, which also competed to attract the project, will join as partner cities and lend their support.
Chuncheon is said to have scored highly for the competitiveness of its local startup ecosystem and its startup-support infrastructure, including universities and research institutions. After the government announced its Startup City plan, three cities in the province vied for the representative-city spot, prompting Gangwon State to opt for evaluation by external panelists to ensure fairness.
■ 60 billion won over four years if selected; TIPS and funds also to be linked
The Startup City Development Project brings together talent, technology and capital scattered across regions to help startup companies grow and take root locally. In April, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced plans to develop 10 Startup Cities as hubs to ease concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and create jobs in local regions.
The selected regions will receive commercialization funding worth 60 billion won and growth-support programs for four years, from next year through 2030. Government startup-support programs, including TIPS, Startup Park, the Regional Growth Fund and the Angel Investment Hub, will also be linked.
The benefits are clearer in the four leading Startup Cities designated earlier: Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju and Ulsan. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is providing commercialization funding of up to 400 million won per company to 278 startup companies in these cities. For companies selected after relocating from other regions to a Startup City, local governments provide additional support equal to 10% of the companies’ own contributions.


■ Applications due by the 30th; six cities to be selected in January next year
In this additional round, 10 cities and provinces outside the capital region, including Gangwon State, will compete for six spots, excluding the four leading cities and provinces; four will be eliminated.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will accept local governments’ strategies and project plans through the 30th, then conduct document and on-site evaluations and final deliberations in December before selecting six new Startup Cities in January next year. With the addition of these six, the nationwide total will rise to 10 Startup Cities.
Gangwon State plans to submit a joint project plan to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups before the deadline, bringing together the specialized industries and startup infrastructure of Chuncheon, Wonju-si and Gangneung. The plan is to establish a startup hub for the Gangwon region centered on Chuncheon and connect the industrial bases of Wonju-si and Gangneung.
■ From Geunhwa-dong 396 to funds worth 146.7 billion won...a foundation built over seven years
Chuncheon had steadily built its startup foundation even before the government competition. The Geunhwa-dong 396 Youth Startup Support Center, which opened in 2019, has continued operating with city funds even after three years of national and provincial funding ended, helping local young people start businesses and become self-reliant. Since making its first fund investment in 2020, Chuncheon has participated in creating five funds worth a total of 146.7 billion won, including a 4.3 billion won bio-sector development fund.
In 2023, Chuncheon established a Startup Innovation Council linking universities, businesses and research institutions. Last year, it became the first in the province to create a dedicated startup-support unit, the Startup Development Team, establishing a support system tailored to each stage of growth.
Two Glocal Universities are at the heart of Chuncheon’s bid strategy. The city plans to combine local startup resources with Kangwon National University’s (KNU) startup-support capabilities—it ranked first among national flagship universities on 14 startup indicators in the university information disclosure system—and Hallym University’s “Station C,” which provides commercialization support at each stage.
The plan is to connect local innovation institutions—including the Small and Medium Enterprise Research and Development Special Zone, Chuncheon Bioindustry Foundation, Gangwon Technopark and Gangwon Creative Economy Innovation Center—to create an end-to-end support system spanning technology discovery, business incubation and commercialization.
Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han said, “This is the result of the foundation we have built over nearly seven years, from the Geunhwa-dong 396 Youth Startup Support Center to startup funds and the Startup Development Team, being recognized.” He added, “With the joint project plan we developed with Wonju-si and Gangneung, we will clear the final hurdle and ensure that the benefits of the Startup City initiative reach every part of the province.”

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter