The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) is enhancing startup support for the four major science institutes in South Korea—Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)—by abolishing restrictions on student startup leave.
On August 5, MSIT announced that it held a meeting at KAIST in Daejeon with the heads of the startup centers from the four institutes. This was the first gathering of the startup center directors and project managers since the launch of the startup centers on July 4.
The meeting aimed to share the startup achievements of each institute, review the current operations of the startup centers, and assess the progress of the deep tech startup support initiatives being implemented this year.
Previously, the government had increased the budget for deep tech startup support for the four institutes to 39.8 billion won through a supplementary budget to expand startup hubs and strengthen support systems. A dedicated startup support organization, previously only at KAIST, has been established at the other three institutes, with additional personnel hired. The goal is to discover over 500 deep tech startup teams from these institutes by the end of the year.
The meeting also reviewed the startup-related policy improvements set to be fully implemented in September. MSIT plans to ease restrictions on the startup leave period for students and faculty, considering the long commercialization timeline of deep tech startups. Students can now extend their leave without limit upon receiving approval from the university president. The leave period for faculty members has also been extended from a maximum of three years to seven years.
KAIST has become the first of the four institutes to introduce a startup credit system, allowing students to earn academic credits for their entrepreneurial activities while enrolled. Additionally, it plans to provide legal, tax, and labor training, along with expert mentoring, to support prospective entrepreneurs in establishing their businesses.
Kim Sung-soo, head of the R&D Policy Office at MSIT, stated, "We will continue to provide policy support to innovate the regional startup ecosystem centered around the science institutes and help the nation’s excellent research assets reach the global stage."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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