From the “2nd Everyone’s Startup Project,” which drew a total of about 93,000 applicants, 10,000 challengers have been selected to embark on a full-fledged startup journey.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 20th that it held the “2nd Everyone’s Startup launch ceremony” at Startup Venture Campus (SVC) Seoul in Mapo District, Seoul, and will fully roll out the second-round program centered on the 10,000 challengers who passed Round 1.
About 120 people attended the event, including Minister Lee So-young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), first- and second-round selectees, officials from mentor institutions, and senior founders. Along with the main event in Seoul, simultaneous events were held in 17 metropolitan and provincial regions nationwide, and a YouTube live broadcast shared the meaning and energy of the startup challenge.
Despite the short recruitment period, about 93,000 people applied for this 2nd Everyone’s Startup. This far exceeds the roughly 63,000 applicants in the first round. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said the results show growing public interest in startups and rising demand to take on the challenge.
The 10,000 selected challengers will receive support such as startup activity funds, professional mentoring, and AI solutions. Through this, they will refine their business ideas, verify marketability and commercialization potential, and be supported to carry them through to actual startup launches.
In the ongoing 1st Everyone’s Startup, visible results have emerged, including investment attraction and patent filings, following mentoring and business concretization processes. As challengers shared startup experiences and concerns through the community, they lowered psychological barriers to entrepreneurship and helped spread a culture of taking on challenges.
At the launch ceremony, lead mentors delivered overall reviews of the judging and senior founders offered encouragement. A panel discussion was also held in which Minister Lee and first- and second-round challengers exchanged views on the government’s startup policy direction and their own startup ideas.
Jeong Seung-gyeong, CEO of IL Institute, who participated as a lead mentor, said in the overall review, “Problem definition and on-site applicability stood out more than flashy technology.” Baek Sang-il, CEO of Creed Partners, said, “I hope the challengers grow into differentiated brands that leverage regional resources through the Everyone’s Startup project.”
One challenger who re-entered the second round after re-challenge mentoring in the first round proposed an idea to make soap using discarded grape by-products. The challenger said, “To create a local soap brand that uses good ingredients from our country, I will become a founder who perseveres to the end despite difficulties.”
After the launch ceremony, regional orientations were held across 17 metropolitan and provincial regions nationwide. Challengers received guidance on the main content and schedule of upcoming support programs, networked with mentor institutions, and began full-fledged startup activities.
Minister Lee So-young said, “Each of the 10,000 challengers gathered here today will be the protagonists who change the future of the Republic of Korea,” adding, “We will be a strong pillar so challengers can try freely, learn from failure, and try again, and we will support the entire startup process to the very end.”
