SMEs ministry launches second 'Startup for All' round with 10,000 selected from 93,000 applicants

The SMEs ministry said Tuesday it had selected 10,000 people for its second "Startup for All" programme, from a pool of 93,000 applicants that far exceeded the response to the first round.

At a launch ceremony at the Startup Venture Campus in Seoul, about 120 people gathered, including the SMEs minister, participants from both rounds, mentor organisations and established founders. Events ran simultaneously in all 17 provinces and metropolitan cities and were streamed on YouTube.

Lee So-young, the SMEs minister, told the ceremony that each of the 10,000 challengers present would go on to shape the country's future. "So that challengers can try freely, learn from failure and try again, we will be a sturdy support and back the entire startup process to the end," she said.

Those chosen receive 2 million won ($1,501) each in startup activity funding, along with early mentoring from operating agencies and access to artificial intelligence tools.

The intake is split into 8,000 places on general and technology tracks and 2,000 on a regional track. Young people aged 39 or under make up 65.3 percent of those selected, and 74.0 percent live outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Repeat applicants account for 40.4 percent.

By sector, the general and technology tracks are 28 percent information technology, 19 percent lifestyle and 10 percent education. The regional track is 49 percent daily life and 39 percent food and beverage.

The second round widened eligibility for existing business owners seeking to start in a different field, extending the cutoff to seven years of operation from three. It also increased the number of startup incubators to about 170 and introduced a multi-faceted review in which three mentors assess each application, along with models that check for AI-generated content and plagiarism.

Cho Seung-kyung, chief executive of IL Institute, who served as a lead mentor, said in his review that problem definition and on-the-ground applicability stood out more than technical flair. Baek Sang-il, chief executive of Creed Partners, said he hoped participants would grow into distinctive brands that draw on local resources.

One returning applicant proposed turning discarded grape byproducts into soap. "To build a local soap brand using Korea's good ingredients, I will become a founder who finishes the race to the end even amid difficulties," the participant said.

The 83,000 people not selected will be offered offline mentoring to refine their ideas from Oct. 26 to Dec. 14.