On the 9th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it held the '2025 Youth Startup Academy Entrepreneurship Dispatch Ceremony' at its main campus in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
The Youth Startup Academy systematically supports the entire process necessary for startup entrepreneurs, including funding, technology education, expert mentoring, and networking, to cultivate future startup leaders by solving various challenges faced by young CEOs.
The Youth Startup Academy was first established in 2011 at the Ansan Training Center of the Small and Medium Business Corporation and has since expanded to operate 19 locations nationwide. Over the past 14 years, it has discovered and nurtured a total of 8,477 young entrepreneurs, producing five corporations listed on the KOSDAQ, including Autoen and Openknowl, as well as two unicorn companies, Toss and Zigbang, creating excellent results.
The dispatch ceremony was held under the theme 'Start up! & Spring up!' to signify a new leap in its 15th year since the establishment of the Youth Startup Academy, featuring a declaration read by a representative of the enrollees, the awarding of 'pacemaker' badges, and various performances.
During the entrance ceremony, 19 representatives from the Youth Startup Academy nationwide read a declaration together, expressing their strong determination towards startup success and reaffirming their resolve for a new beginning.
Subsequently, each principal of the Youth Startup Academy was designated as a 'pacemaker' for the enrollees, conducting a meaningful exchange event where they shared badges under the commitment to run together and lead a successful startup journey.
Meanwhile, various side events were prepared for young entrepreneurs attending the dispatch ceremony that day. Counseling booths were set up for interactions with professional accelerators and global corporations, along with showrooms to promote products from enrollees and graduated corporations. Additionally, there was a time to hear success stories from senior entrepreneurs who graduated from the Youth Startup Academy.
Im Jung-wook, the Director of the Startup Venture Innovation Office at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, noted, 'The Youth Startup Academy is the representative youth startup policy of our country, and in the last five years, the graduated corporations have achieved remarkable results with sales amounting to 7 trillion won and the creation of over 14,000 jobs.' He added, 'The government will actively support young entrepreneurs to establish a solid growth foundation and secure competitiveness in domestic and international markets through the Youth Startup Academy by strengthening global expansion, attracting private investment, and linking with regional key industries.'