SMEs ministry holds startup festival in Chungcheong to boost regional ecosystem

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a startup festival in South Chungcheong Province this week to assess the regional entrepreneurial landscape and hear directly from challengers facing early-stage hurdles.

First Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok opened the 2026 Everyone's Startup Festival at the Cheonan Yoo Gwan-sun Gymnasium on Tuesday, bringing together local startups, investors, and support organizations to discuss development strategies. The event marks the first time the ministry has hosted such a festival on a non-metropolitan wide-area basis, aiming to narrow the gap between Seoul and regional startup environments.

Officials hosted a panel discussion with second-round participants to share experiences regarding prototype production and commercialization. The session collected specific grievances about current policies, including a proposal from university students Ha Tae-min and Kim Han-jun to revise rules that exclude direct prototype manufacturing costs from reimbursement, currently allowing expenses only when outsourced to external vendors.

Kim Kwang-yoon, a second-round entrant who proposed a dual-isolation packaging platform inspired by pine cones, described the program as a stepping stone for launching a second career based on two decades of field experience. Another participant, Jeong Taek-geun, suggested expanding exchange programs within the challenger community to better match collaboration needs and provide mutual feedback.

The two-day festival featured a promising startup investment pitching contest, an open innovation meetup between large corporations and startups, and an A-Tech forum alongside various other side events designed to diagnose realistic challenges in the region.

"This festival has become more than a one-off event; it is a substantial venue for regional entrepreneurs to cooperate and seek investment opportunities," Noh said. He pledged to strengthen follow-up support, including mentoring, funding, and research and development assistance, to help entrepreneurs leap into global markets.