Ministry, European firms join hands for Korean startups

Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun speaks during her meeting with CEOs and executives of European companies in Korea at the Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of SMEs and Startups

By Nam Hyun-woo

Philips and L'Oreal will join efforts with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to help Korean startups' growth and entry into overseas market, the ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry announced this during a meeting between SME Minister Park Young-sun and CEOs and executives of 20 European companies in Korea at the Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel.

Attending companies include L'Oreal, Chanel, H&M, Philips, Dassault Systemes, Apple, Safran, IKEA, Oerlikon Balzers, Brita, Mercedes-Benz, Continental, Audi, Volkswagen, ABB, Deutsche Bank, DB Schenker, AXA, SEB, EF and ETS. Apple and ETS are U.S. companies but they attended the meeting as members of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK).

"In the wake of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, innovation comes through connection, thus the importance of connecting small things is ever increasing," Park said during the meeting. "The ministry will spare no effort in supporting the connection between Korean and European firms and their transition efforts toward a digital economy."

During the meeting, Philips and L'Oreal each agreed to join the ministry's cooperation project with European companies on supporting Korean startups. Philips will assist promising startups in digital healthcare, and L'Oreal will support firms with eco-friendly packaging materials for cosmetics.

Philips already has a track record of supporting a Korean startup. In 2018, an artificial intelligence (AI) healthcare tech startup, Lunit, participated in Philips' global startup platform Healthworks and enjoyed the healthcare giant's support in entering overseas markets. Currently, Lunit and Philips are in talks over applying the former's AI technology to the latter's medical devices.

Mercedes-Benz pledged it will host its Startup Autobahn program for the first time in Korea in the second half of this year. The program is aimed at exploring and nurturing promising future mobility startups by building a network of startups with leading companies, investors and academia and providing opportunities for continued support and investment.

Dassault Systemes also suggested an idea for supporting startups here by setting up a virtual makerspace based on its 3D design technologies, as well as providing software education for vocational high schools in Korea.

The meeting came after the ECCK on Tuesday appointed Schenker Korea CEO Dirk Lukat as its new chairman.

"In order for the Korean economy to smoothly recover from this period of uncertainties at home and abroad and continue to grow, a fair and vibrant market ecosystem must be the basis, and the power to overcome the crisis comes from the value of fairness and win-win cooperation," Lukat said during the meeting.

"I would like to stress that the European business community is fully behind and supportive of any initiative to further strengthen the SME environment and innovative business opportunities in Korea."

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