Dignitaries, including Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Incheon Mayor Park Nam-choon, Commissioner Lee Won-jae of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, and Chairman Cho Yong-byoung of Shinhan Financial Group participate in a ceremony to open Incheon Startup Park on Feb. 25. (Photo: IFEZA)

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZA) is accelerating efforts to build a strong industry ecosystem to enable innovative growth.

That comes as the government shifted its development paradigm to one focused on innovative growth. In this context, IFEZA will establish a plan to develop core, specialized industries for innovative growth, improve a support regime for innovative growth and ramp up services for tenant companies by opening IFEZ’s business center.

In addition, IFEZA will pull out all the stops to nurture IFEZ into a center of innovative growth by working at full capacity to build “a Korean Silicon Valley” through the development of global unicorn companies.

IFEZA has decided to establish a plan to develop core, specialized industries for innovative growth in compliance with outcomes of a plan to the effect, commissioned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

Under the plan, the authority will explore collaboration among investment attraction, corporate support and innovative support institutions and improve a support regime for innovative growth, such as business, educational training and network.

A consultative body for innovation among industry, campus and research circles will be formed in the first half of this year. Regional innovation institutions will be induced to participate in MOTIE’s project to build an innovation ecosystem at each free economic zone.

They will also implement projects to build infrastructure for innovation clusters and ramp up corporate business capabilities.

IFEZ’s business center spearheads innovative growth. The business center was opened last October in a project to nurture IFEZ’s industries, strengthen corporate support services and reinvigorate investment attraction.

The business center was utilized by 946 people for 239 meeting and seminar 239 occasions as of late January, and it had also handled 51 corporate complaints and grievance cases.

Incheon Startup Park Makes Debut

Incheon Startup Park is joining forces in building a Korean Silicon Valley through the nurturing of global unicorn companies.

Incheon Startup Park, which opened officially on Feb. 25, is the nation’s biggest space to support startups, particularly ones related to the technologies of the 4th Industrial revolution and bio convergence sectors.

Incheon Startup Park will have synergetic effects to the economic development of Incheon in conjunction with its connection with Songdo Bio Cluster, emerging as Incheon’s future growth engine.
IFEZA held a “Let’s Start Up” event to officially open Incheon Startup Park.

Incheon Startup Park is designed to build a Korean version of Silicon Valley of the United States or Zhongguancun in China.

It is the first of its kind as contest projects implemented by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) to nurture startups by combining the private sector’s experiences and capabilities and the public sector’s support.

Incheon Startup Park is accommodated at Tomorrow City, which was remodeled after a multipurpose building near Incheon University Subway Station in Songdo International City.

It is outfitted with office space, amenities facilities and specialized support facilities, such as an AI center and a IoT verification support lab.

Incheon Startup Park offers support projects such as verification, technology, investment attraction and support for global market entry. It will support about 230 companies through private-public sector programs.