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[KF Korea Workshop 2] Growing Korea’s Startup eco-system

The KF Korea Workshop is hosted by the Korea Foundation and organized by the East Asia Institute to promote and share understanding of Korean social, political, and economic issues among international residents in Korea.

For the second lecture of our 2018 2nd KF Korea Workshop Series, EAI and the Korea Foundation invited Mr. Jung Wook Lim, managing director of the Korea Startup Alliance to present on the topic “Management strategy in the era of the fourth industrial revolution.” Mr. Lim is currently serving as a civilian commissioner on the Presidential Fourth Industrial Revolution Committee. In this lecture, Mr. Lim discussed what kind of roles startups play in the Fourth Industrial Revolution era and their course of development.

Mr. Lim claimed that startups can reinvigorate the Korean economic structure, which is currently centered on chaebol, or large industrial conglomerates run and controlled by individual families. Recognizing the significance of startups, the Korean government has increased its investment in nurturing startups, but still there are many practical obstacles including the attraction of early-stage investment, Korean views on startups, and the establishment of an active startup community. Mr. Lim expressed confidence that if those problems can be solved, startups will drive the growth of Korea's economy.