South Korea’s biggest startup event ComeUp 2022 kicks off in Seoul 

South Korea’s largest startup event ComeUp kicked off on Wednesday at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). 

The annual event, which celebrates the fourth year, will go on through Friday under the theme of “We Move the World.”

The Korea Startup Forum is in charge of the operations this year, as opposed to the previous years when the government was also involved.

Until 2019, the startup event was mostly focused on building up the domestic startup ecosystem. But the Ministry of SMEs and Startups restructured the annual event into a global gala in order to nurture ComeUp as one of the top five startup events worldwide. 

Some 250 industry insiders from 19 nations participate in this year’s event, such as the United States, Germany, and Italy to name a few. 

Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Young and the Chairman of the Korea Startup Forum Park Jae-wook were keynote speakers at the opening ceremony. Park is the CEO of mobility startup SOCAR and also goes by the English name of Jake. 

The two were speaking on how to become unicorn startups, the cold spell in investment, and policy innovations. 

Visitors will be able to hear from around 80 speakers, and startups and investors will have ample opportunities to give and receive business consultations. 

But it’s not just the startups and investors that are interested in the annual event. 

US tech giant Microsoft Corp. and Korean conglomerates Samsung Electronics Co., Hyundai Motor Co., and Lotte Ventures operate consultation booths at the event. The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade, and the Italian Trade Agency are scheduled to partake in a joint session.

“I hope ComeUp 2022 will serve as a catalyst for startups in and outside of Korea to come together and lead the digital economy,” Minister Lee said. 

Write to Da Eun Choi at max@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.