Hyun-gon Kim, President of the Gyeonggido Business & Science Accelerator, delivers opening remarks.
The Techno Valley Innovation Division of the Gyeonggido Business & Science Accelerator (GBSA) held the “2025 Gyeonggi Global Startup Fostering Program Performance Report” on Wednesday, December 10, at The Link, the startup lounge on the second floor of the Startup Campus in Pangyo Techno Valley, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The event was organized to share the outcomes of the Global Startup Fostering Program carried out over three years from 2023 to 2025 and to expand opportunities for investment attraction and open innovation for outstanding startups.
Around 50 people attended the performance report. From GBSA, President Hyun-gon Kim, the head of the Techno Valley Innovation Division, the Pangyo Techno Valley team leader, and working-level staff were present, along with officials from the Advanced Mobility Industry Division of Gyeonggi Province, to review the program’s achievements.
Program operators that jointly implemented the three-year Global Startup Fostering Program, including global accelerator Y&Archer, investment networking organizer Navion, and E4Net, which operates an interpretation and translation center, also attended the event. Startups that received worldwide expansion and investment support, as well as representatives from investment firms such as NH Venture Investment, Hana Bank, Shinhan Venture Investment, and Lotte Ventures, participated, creating a venue where the public, private, and investment sectors came together.
The program proceeded with a report on the progress and quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the Global Startup Fostering Program, presentations of outstanding company cases, a ceremony to present agreements for CES support, and one-on-one business meetups with venture capital and corporate venture capital firms. It was emphasized that diverse initiatives—such as global accelerators, commercialization support, interpretation and translation services, and investment networking—were organically connected into a single “global expansion package,” effectively supporting overseas market entry for startups based in Pangyo Techno Valley.
Hyun-gon Kim, President of GBSA, poses for a commemorative photo with representatives of 10 companies selected for support to attend CES 2026
In the highlight session featuring outstanding company case presentations, six startups took the stage to share the achievements they realized through support under each program track. The presenting companies were NexpotSolution (CEO Junpyo Park, global commercialization support), COONTEC (CEO Joon Pang, global commercialization support), A.PLA by NALBI (CEO Youngsu Lee, global accelerator), HOP (CEO Enoch Oh, global accelerator), REALTEETH (CEO Jin-Hun Jeon, investment networking), and MO Sports (CEO Yoonsoo Paul Song, investment networking).
These companies reported tangible results in areas such as participation in overseas exhibitions and IR events, the discovery of global partnerships, and the attraction of follow-on investment. They commonly noted that when commercialization, investment, and interpretation and translation support were provided in a step-by-step, connected manner, the speed of global expansion increased significantly.
Among them, NexpotSolution, which developed an anti-counterfeiting authentication solution that adds security features to QR codes to prevent forgery and tampering, achieved particularly notable results. Through the program, the company recorded 350% revenue growth, secured KRW 1.8 billion in investment, and secured an additional KRW 1 billion in follow-on funding, totaling KRW 2.8 billion in investment. It also demonstrated visible progress in overseas market development, including joint projects with Japanese global companies, and was introduced as a representative success case of the Global Startup Fostering Program.
Junpyo Park, CEO of NexpotSolution, presents the company’s achievements during the performance report
The one-on-one business meetup session brought together 10 VC and CVC firms, including NH Venture Investment. Investors conducted in-depth reviews of each company’s business model and growth strategy and discussed the possibility of follow-up meetings and joint projects. Practical discussions on investment and collaboration began on the spot, leading participants to view the event as a genuine business hub rather than a mere year-end reporting session.
In his welcoming remarks, President Hyun-gon Kim eased the atmosphere of what could have been a rigid public-sector event by emphasizing entrepreneurship grounded in real-world practice. He opened by saying that public institution events can often feel tedious due to fixed formats and formal greetings. He expressed hope that the day would be an opportunity to experience tangible results rather than just words.
He went on to contrast various professional titles ending in “-sa” with creators and experts referred to as “-ga,” noting that those who reach a certain level through long-standing philosophy and experience are often called artists. Among them, he said, entrepreneurs are the most important, emphasizing that a country where entrepreneurs succeed is truly advanced.
President Kim also remarked that while entrepreneurship begins with challenge and success, it ultimately ends with coexistence and sharing, framing the performance report itself as a venue for practicing those values. Quoting the famous line from the drama Misaeng, “If you are not connected, you are nothing,” he added that connection allows entrepreneurship to flourish and enables greater achievements. He expressed hope that ideas and technologies would connect at the event further to enhance the global brand value of Pangyo Techno Valley.
Professor Sedol Lee delivers a lecture at the “AI Great Transformation Open Seminar” held as a related event.
Writer Gil-Young Song continues his lecture at the “AI Great Transformation Open Seminar” held as a related event.
Following the main event, an “AI Grand Transformation Open Seminar” linked with the National Information Society Agency (NIA) was held, offering time to reflect on future technology and industry trends and on the outcomes of the Global Startup Fostering Program.
The seminar consisted of two sessions. In the first session, hosted by NIA, Professor Sedol Lee delivered a lecture titled “AI and the Human Move,” offering an in-depth exploration of the significance of human intuition and judgment in the age of artificial intelligence.
In the second session, hosted by GBSA, author Gil-Young Song spoke on the theme “The Era of AI Colleagues: Human Sensitivity and Ethical Values.” He highlighted the importance of sensibility, ethics, and uniquely human relationships in an era when AI works alongside people, emphasizing that startups and companies must carefully balance technology and humanity.
Through this performance report, the GBSA Techno Valley Innovation Division stated that it plans to accelerate further the global expansion of Gyeonggi Province startups centered on Pangyo Techno Valley, building on the networks and know-how accumulated through the three-year Global Startup Fostering Program.
