Jae-won Kim, Industry-Academic Cooperation Professor Korea University Sejong Campus Business Start-up Support Center
-Impact (Over 5 years until 2024), Supported 1,008 companies, generating 889.5 billion KRW in revenue
-Performance Created 8,873 jobs, attracted 373.9 billion KRW in investment, and successfully led 2 companies to an IPO
-Collaboration, Continued partnership with the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH) to discover and nurture startups in the future mobility sector
The Korea University Sejong Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation’s Business Start-up Support Center, which opened during the sweltering summer of 2018, has grown into a startup mecca for the central region, bridging the Seoul metropolitan area and regional provinces. In just four years, it has established a successful track record, ranking first among national universities in terms of the scale of startup support projects. Jae-won Kim, an Industry-Academic Cooperation Professor at the center, stated, “To grow into a forward base for entrepreneurship where tomorrow is more anticipated than today, we are boldly taking steps on the path of startup support every single day.” We met Professor Kim at the center located in Sejong Special Self-Governing City.
Please introduce yourself.
“I am Jae-won Kim, an Industry-Academic Cooperation Professor at Korea University Sejong Campus. I have been in charge of entrepreneurship lectures and startup support projects for seven years. Based on my previous experience working in private sectors—including telecommunications, System Integration (SI), and mobile content companies—as well as my history of founding two startups and evaluating R&D/R&BD projects and startup mentoring, I am doing my best to differentiate Sejong Campus as a strategic forward base for entrepreneurship.”
What projects is the Sejong Business Start-up Support Center currently undertaking?
“We are operating a wide range of initiatives, including the Preliminary Startup Package (General and Deep-tech/Future Mobility), the Sports Preliminary/Initial Startup Support Project, Maker Space, the Startup Education Innovation Leading University program, the Youth Work Experience Support Project (Internship and Project-based), and the SW Convergence Cluster 2.0. Additionally, we were newly selected as the lead agency for the 2026 Global Corporate Collaboration Program (Around X), which allows us to provide even more multi-dimensional support to startups.”
How would you evaluate your performance so far?
“By executing the largest startup support projects among national universities, we have achieved significant results over the past five years until 2024: supporting 1,008 companies, generating 889.5 billion KRW in revenue, creating 8,873 jobs, and attracting 373.9 billion KRW in investment. We also led two companies to successful IPOs. Above all, I consider our growth into the undisputed mecca of startup support in the central region to be our most rewarding achievement.”
What are the key strengths of the center?
“Our strength lies in our multi-dimensional support network. We have established three specialized tracks—Strengthening Technical Capability, Enhancing Market Entry, and Boosting Investment Attraction—which are the most critical areas for preliminary and early-stage startups during technology commercialization. We have built a collaborative system with specialized institutions for each track. KATECH is our most vital partner across all three of these tracks.”
What kind of collaboration are you conducting with the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH)?
“Our relationship with KATECH dates back to 2019. KATECH played a pivotal role as our most important partner in helping Korea University Sejong Campus grow from a barren land for startups into the central region’s startup mecca it is today. Specifically, we have engaged in comprehensive and multi-dimensional cooperation in the future mobility sector—covering startup discovery, technical capacity building, global market entry, and investment attraction—and this collaboration remains an ongoing success.”
What are your future goals?
“Based on our core partnership with KATECH, we aim to further advance our startup support programs. At the same time, we plan to leverage the university’s strengths to solve the chronic challenge of securing top talent for startups. By training customized talent that meets corporate demands and matching them with startups, we aim to become a premier startup support organization that encompasses every stage of the entrepreneurial journey—from A to Z.”
reporter jinho lee
[email protected]
