The Youth Start-up Academy (Cheongchangsa Temple), which has served as a “gate for young entrepreneu.. – MK

The Youth Start-up Academy (Cheongchangsa Temple), which has served as a “gate for young entrepreneurs” for 16 years, is at a crossroads. This is because the government has cut all related budgets in the 2027 budget, raising the possibility that existing projects will be terminated after the 16th term this year.

Entrepreneurs from Cheongchangsa are protesting that improving operational problems and eliminating the business itself are two separate issues.

According to the Youth Entrepreneurship Academy General Meeting on the 21st, the General Association will hold an emergency policy seminar under the theme of “From the Beginning of Startup to Growth” with Jang Chul-min’s office in the conference room of the National Assembly Hall at 2 p.m. on the 28th. Entrepreneurs from Cheongchangsa across the country will gather to discuss the preservation and improvement of the project and deliver their opinions to the government and the National Assembly.

Founded in 2011, Cheongchangsa has been providing comprehensive support for commercialization funds, start-up space, education, and coaching, centered on early founders under the age of 39. Over the past 16 years, nearly 10,000 entrepreneurs have been produced nationwide, and Viva Republica (Toss) and Jikbang are also known as companies from Cheongchangsa.

However, the budget for 2027 submitted by the government did not reflect the budget related to Cheongchangsa Temple. Instead, the nationwide bases, facilities, and manpower used by the existing Cheongchangsa Temple will be used in the “Re-Challenge Success School” starting next year. 59.5 billion won was set aside for the successful re-challenge school. The key is to help re-founders make a comeback by analyzing the cause of failure, customized education and consulting, and redesigning business models (BMs).

On-site respondents say they are embarrassed by the possibility of sudden business closure. In particular, there are concerns among entrepreneurs who are currently participating in Cheongchangsa Temple that this year’s entrance examination may actually be the last flag bearer.

A startup CEO who is currently joining Cheongchangsa said, “We received practical help not only in subsidies or spaces, but also information with other entrepreneurs and connect with graduates. If there is a problem, we need to improve the system and it is questionable whether the answer is that the business itself disappears. If it is really abolished, I wonder if the government is not willing to actively support young entrepreneurs in the future, and it is also true that I have no idea how to prepare for next year as an early entrepreneur,” he said.

Operational problems also affected the government’s reorganization of Cheongchangsa. As the number of bases nationwide increased to 19, management problems were also pointed out, including direct management of the Small and Medium Venture Business Corporation and consignment to the private sector, and cases of illegal receipt of government subsidies using false tax invoices.

Lee So-young, nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups, mentioned at the National Assembly’s confirmation hearing on the 15th that the application rate for moving into the space decreased to around 8% in connection with the decision to abolish Cheongchangsa Temple.

However, alumni of Cheongchangsa Temple argue that operational inefficiency and business survival should be viewed separately. In particular, support for re-challenge entrepreneurs and fostering young people who enter startups for the first time should not be approached in a way that eliminates the other to expand one as the purpose and target of the policy are different.

Ryu Jeong-won, president of the Youth Entrepreneurship Academy, said, “I’m not saying that there is no problem with Cheongchangsa Temple or that we should keep it the same,” adding, “We should boldly improve the shortcomings, but we should not make the youth entrepreneur development system and the national network of entrepreneurs accumulated for 16 years disappear at once.”

What alumni are particularly concerned about is the network of entrepreneurs formed around Cheongchangsa Temple. As new riders came in every year, entrepreneurs from senior and junior teams naturally connected, and a community was formed with more than 1,000 people participating, centering on the alumni association. There were also cases where alumni created their own funds and invested in junior companies. If the business is terminated and the inflow of new riders is cut off, such networks could also weaken over time.

Subsequent support for graduated companies is also considered a problem. Cheongchangsa has been managing the company for up to five years even after graduation, providing follow-up growth opportunities such as participation in overseas exhibitions, overseas corporate briefing (IR), and policy business linkage. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is in the position that even if Cheongchang is abolished, existing support, such as management of management status and information provision of graduated companies, will not disappear uniformly. However, it has not yet been decided whether existing personnel will continue to take on the role of guiding and linking policy projects necessary for individual companies as they are now.

The issue of abolishing Cheongchangsa Temple has also emerged as an issue in the National Assembly. Candidate Lee said at the confirmation hearing that if the network of entrepreneurs disappears due to the abolition of Cheongchangsa Temple, he will look at ways to continue his network with his reputation, saying, “We will lose more social resources than 100 billion won worth of budget.”

Starting with the seminar on the 28th, the alumni association plans to gather opinions from alumni across the country to summarize the achievements and improvement tasks of Cheongchangsa and deliver policy proposals that contain business preservation and development plans during the parliamentary budget review process.