South Korea startup program draws 63,000, faces scrutiny

June 16 (Asia Today) -- A South Korean government entrepreneurship program officially began Tuesday after attracting 63,000 applicants, but concerns about inconsistent evaluations and the possible misuse of business ideas have already prompted officials to announce changes.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a launch ceremony for the inaugural Startup for All project at the Startup Venture Campus Seoul in the Hongdae district of western Seoul.

The national program is designed to support prospective entrepreneurs through mentoring, prototype development and business commercialization.

Questions about the quality of the screening process and protections for participants' ideas dominated a media briefing held Monday, one day before the launch ceremony.

Critics pointed to differences in the performance of lead mentors who conducted the first-stage reviews and questioned the usefulness of feedback provided to about 58,000 unsuccessful applicants.

The ministry gave private startup incubators considerable discretion over the evaluations. That approach led to differences in the depth and quality of the comments received by applicants, officials acknowledged.

Cho Kyung-won, director general for startup policy at the ministry, said the government delegated authority based on the commitment and trust of participants in the startup ecosystem.

Cho said the ministry would accept criticism from the field and immediately improve the system.

Under current ministry guidelines, each mentor reviews 20 to 40 applications per day and may receive up to 300,000 won, or about $200, in daily compensation.

Beginning with the second round of the project, scheduled to be announced in early July, three reviewers will jointly evaluate each application. Participating organizations will also be required to operate final review committees.

The ministry will require written evaluations to contain at least 200 Korean characters to prevent reviewers from providing brief or perfunctory feedback.

It also plans to introduce an artificial intelligence-assisted screening system to identify possible academic plagiarism or text copied from generative AI services. Officials said the system would simplify eligibility checks and improve the efficiency of reviews.

Mentors found to have performed their duties inadequately during the first round may be barred from participating in the second.

The briefing also raised concerns about differences in how funds are distributed to technology startups and local businesses.

Technology entrepreneurs receive vouchers, while participants in the local entrepreneurship track must initially spend their own money and later apply for reimbursement.

Cho said the two systems were unavoidable because of restrictions within existing government budget categories.

The ministry plans to revise the budget structure and introduce a government-issued payment card for all tracks next year, he said.

Participants also expressed concern that business ideas submitted through the program's online platform could be copied or misused.

Cho said the ministry had completed consultations with South Korea's intellectual property agency and would offer intellectual property education and patent application assistance to 1,100 contestants advancing to regional auditions.

Those measures will supplement existing protections, including a six-month priority period granted to ideas that pass an official competition stage, he said.

The ministry said it would use problems identified during the first round to improve the next phase of the program.

The inaugural round has a budget of 62.8 billion won, or about $41.4 million.

The second round will be funded with a proposed supplementary budget of 200 billion won, or about $131.8 million, more than three times the first-round amount. The government plans to select 10,000 participants.

The next round will also introduce a university league, a youth entrepreneurship camp and a global competition track.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260615010005254