SMEs ministry opens regional auditions for 200 spots in startup project

The SMEs ministry said Monday it will hold regional auditions for its "Startup for All" project across all 17 provinces and cities from Oct. 13 to 15, selecting 200 of the 500 contestants who advanced through the second round of the first open call.

Instead of the mentor-led evaluations used in earlier rounds, panels of investors and technology specialists will hear public IR pitches and weigh how far each idea has been developed, how strong the product is and whether it can reach the market. The events will be held at regional startup agencies including the Creative Economy Innovation Centers.

About 62,944 people applied to the first open call. The 500 who made it to the second round have received technology mentoring, early commercialization funding of up to 10 million won ($7,474), regulatory screening and access to artificial intelligence tools, with graphics processing unit support and loan guarantees arranged through agreements with the five major financial groups — KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH. Among them, 20 companies have raised a combined 2.9 billion won in private investment, while the group has filed 458 patent applications and completed 192 business registrations.

"This regional audition is a real-world stage where the commercialization potential of ideas and prototypes refined through mentoring and other incubation programs is evaluated from the perspective of professional investors and the market," said Cho Kyung-won, the ministry's startup policy director.

Cho plans to visit the Daegu Creative Economy Innovation Center on Oct. 13 to encourage contestants. Daegu recorded the highest first-round application rate outside the capital region at 7.4 percent.

The 200 who are selected will each receive 10 million won in commercialization funding and mentoring from established founders. A further round of auditions across five regional zones will narrow the field to a top 100, who can receive up to 100 million won ($74,738) each under an agreement.

Each audition site will also serve as an open networking space for the wider local startup community, with prototype exhibitions, talks by veteran founders, investment matching sessions, retry clinics and local sales markets tailored to each region. Detailed regional schedules are available on the Startup for All platform. Results of this first round of regional auditions will be announced next week.

Cho said the ministry will keep building practical support systems so that entrepreneurs who keep challenging themselves, and trying again, can steadily develop their capabilities, in addition to the follow-up support for those who advance to the zonal rounds.