[Interview] Kim Gyeonghwan, Head of the Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board

PROFILE
Kim Gyeonghwan, Head of the Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board
Head of the Start-up Support Foundation and Dean of the Graduate School of Global Entrepreneurship, Sungkyunkwan University
Head of the Startup-Oriented University Project Board and the Laboratory Business Innovation Project, Sungkyunkwan University (2023–present)
Current Director of the Korea SMEs & Startups Institute
Former President of the Korea Association of Business Education

In line with its vision of becoming the 'No. 1 hub for culture- and technology-based youth startups,' the Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board is collaborating with Jongno-gu to intensively foster youth startups in the fields of culture, arts, lifestyle, and technology. The Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board aims to find 60 startups, create 160 jobs, and generate 10 billion won in sales. To reach these goals, the board is promoting various initiatives, such as finding talented individuals within and outside the university and encouraging entrepreneurship among foreigners.
Kim Gyeonghwan, head of the Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board, said, "We operate five startup spaces, including the Kingo Startup Space on Daehak-ro and Hyehwa, as well as the Jongno Youth Startup Center, to promote startup growth and revitalize the local community."

How would you evaluate the results so far?
"The Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board is taking steps toward its goals of finding and fostering startups, as well as achieving qualitative growth in the startup ecosystem. In 2024, we found and fostered 50 startup teams and achieved excellent results in technology, culture, and art, among other fields. In particular, we actively found talented individuals on campus and provided customized support throughout the entire cycle, including team building, prototype production, marketing, and commercialization. As a result, our tenant companies have achieved tangible business results, such as winning competitions, attracting investments, and collaborating with large hospitals and public institutions. It is also meaningful that we have created an environment where startups can test their products and services in the actual market in Jongno-gu, the cultural, arts, and tourism hub. We contribute to the expansion of the global startup ecosystem by assisting foreign startup teams with visa issuance and business registration. We continuously improve the program through step-by-step performance management and feedback systems. Going forward, the Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board plans to provide more systematic and effective support to help startups grow, generate sales and jobs, and expand into the global market."



What are the biggest challenges facing this year's project?
"In 2025, the most significant challenges will be scaling up startups, generating actual sales and jobs, and expanding globally. The Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board is promoting the globalization of the startup ecosystem. As part of this effort, we are operating the FLARE (Foreign Leaders Aspiring to Real Entrepreneurship) program. This program systematically supports foreign (aspiring) business starters throughout the entire process, enabling them to successfully establish a business in Korea. As foreign talent plays an increasingly important role in the global startup environment, we provide thorough support in finding startup ideas, commercializing them, and establishing businesses. For instance, we offer comprehensive support from idea discovery to business plan development, practical commercialization, and administrative procedures, including obtaining a startup visa. We also provide practical mentoring and administrative assistance. Although the FLARE program is in its inaugural year, participants have already advanced to the finals of a startup competition for foreign students hosted by Seongbuk-gu, demonstrating tangible results. Going forward, the Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board plans to strengthen its practical, systematic support of the entire process, from idea discovery to visa acquisition and commercialization, so foreign business starters can start businesses and settle down in Korea."

What are the strengths of the Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board?
"First, we excel in providing practical startup education and mentoring systems based on the university's excellent talent pool, research infrastructure, and faculty expertise. Second, we provide an environment where startups can test and grow in the actual market by connecting with Jongno-gu, a center of culture, arts, and tourism. Third, we operate customized support programs covering various targets and fields, such as on-campus and off-campus startups, foreign startups, and local partnerships. We also have a very solid network of cooperating universities, autonomous districts, the private sector, and investment institutions."



How are tenant companies selected, and what benefits are offered to them?
"Tenant companies are selected based on a comprehensive evaluation of the business starter's capabilities, business plan appropriateness, technical capabilities, marketability, and potential for employment and exports. In particular, we evaluate the technical personnel and team-building capabilities needed to implement their ideas. In the age of AI, human resources are vital. Selected companies will receive stage-by-stage, field-specific growth support, including office space (with full support for rent and deposit), startup equipment, expert mentoring, customized startup training, investment attraction (IR) support, market development support, and commercialization funds (up to 10 million won). They will also enjoy various benefits necessary for practical growth, such as networking, publicity, and connections with graduated companies."



What are some examples of startup fostering programs?
One example is the program I mentioned earlier that helps startups go global. Called the Foreign Leaders Aspiring to Real Entrepreneurship (FLARE) program, it involves young people from more than 20 countries who learn business skills and build capacity for startups.
The second program is called Social Entrepreneurship Team Academy (SeTA). SeTA is a program designed to build students' entrepreneurial and innovative capabilities on campus. The program is held twice a year, in the first and second halves, and it accepts about 30 students through interviews because of the large number of applicants. SeTA's most notable feature is that students work in teams to identify social issues and apply business methodologies, such as design thinking and lean startup methodology, to gain real startup experience. The third program is the Failed Festival, which gives students 10,000 won in seed money and asks them to run a money-making business with it. Students respond very well to this program. Rather than merely proposing an idea, students experience the process of deeply analyzing a problem with their team and developing a solution into a business model. This program allows students to fail and develop the innovation skills required in the real world.



What are some success stories among the tenant startups?
"Among the tenant companies, there have been notable achievements in AI healthcare, the information community, and XR and 3D technology. For example, CareMinder developed an AI-based solution for automating nursing tasks using voice recognition. The company conducted collaborative research and development with Samsung Medical Center and Ajou University Hospital. Korean and international competitions, investment, and participation in MWC have recognized CareMinder's innovation. Witi (KNOWHOW) operates an information community platform used by over 140,000 startup representatives, generating actual revenue. SecuXR has developed a crime and disaster response training solution utilizing XR and 3D technology, and it is expanding into the global market by collaborating with public institutions in Korea and abroad. In these various fields, our tenant companies are producing tangible results and becoming exemplary success stories within the startup ecosystem."

What programs are available to help startups attract investment?
Our university has venture capital and angel capital, such as Kingo Investment Partners and KingoSpring, which directly invest in and broker investments for startups throughout their entire cycle. This approach is a distinctive feature of our university. These investment platforms contribute to growth through investor attraction. "We provide practical support at each stage to help startups attract investment. First, tenant companies review their business plans with the help of mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs and venture capital (VC) professionals. They also receive guidance in preparing IR materials from an investor's perspective. Following this, they undergo training to enhance their IR decks (pitching materials) and presentation skills. They will then participate in an IR demo day attended by actual investment examiners. At the demo day, startup teams present their businesses and receive feedback from investors on the spot. We provide follow-up meetings and networking opportunities to the most successful teams to assist them in securing actual investments. Through this systematic process, tenant companies are developing their investment attraction capabilities and gaining opportunities that lead to actual investments."


What programs are available to help companies expand globally?
"The Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board operates a 'Born Global Strategy Consulting' program for tenant startups to systematically prepare for entering overseas markets. This program goes beyond simple advice to include in-depth analysis of the target country, provision of customized strategy reports, and one-on-one professional consulting. In particular, it diagnoses whether each company's business model and products are suitable for the market of the target country (product-market fit) and derives a strategy for analyzing competitors, designing entry channels, and localizing brands. The consultants are experts with a profound understanding of the industries and markets of each target country, and after consulting, they provide a report on the entry strategy for each company, which can be used as practical implementation data. Considering that global expansion involves more than just marketing and requires an evaluation of 'product-market fit,' the program is designed to reduce the risk of hasty overseas expansion and improve execution."

What are your goals for the future?
"The Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board will focus on making qualitative leaps in the startup ecosystem and sustainable innovation rather than simply increasing the number of startups. Our primary goal is to develop a startup cluster where young entrepreneurs in various fields can experiment and grow in the actual market by leveraging the regional characteristics of Jongno-gu, a convergence of culture, arts, and technology. We plan to accomplish this over the next four years. To this end, we plan to actively seek talented individuals both within and outside the university as well as foreigners interested in starting a business and providing customized support that covers the entire process, from the fundamentals of starting a business to acquiring specialized knowledge and expanding into global markets. Specifically, we aim to create a virtuous cycle that consistently produces excellent startups by connecting to various startup support systems within the university, such as the Startup-Oriented University Project and the Laboratory Startup-Oriented University Project. Additionally, we aim to foster a model of mutual growth between the university, the local community, and companies by strengthening our partnerships with Jongno-gu and other local communities. As a leading youth startup hub in the Republic of Korea, the Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Project Board will continue to expand the values of innovation and mutual growth."

reporter jinho lee
jinho2323@hankyung.com