Korea looks beyond employment to retain international talent through startups

Employment has long been seen as the primary pathway for international students seeking to settle in Korea. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, however, is advancing a parallel strategy centered on entrepreneurship, targeting global startup personnel — including foreign students — to encourage long-term settlement. “The initiative aims to attract top global startup talent to establish businesses in Korea, integrate them into the domestic economy and ultimately enhance the global competitiveness of the country’s startup ecosystem,” said Oh Ji-young, director of the Global Startup Division at the SMEs ministry in a written interview with The Korea Times. A flagship policy driving the ministry’s efforts to attract foreign founders is the K-Startup Grand Challenge. Launched in 2016, the program promotes Korea’s startup ecosystem globally through an international competition that seeks to identify promising overseas startups and encourage them to establish operations in the country. Selected teams receive a package of settlement support, including assistance with visas and corporWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times