Seoul, April 24 (IANS) The government will designate 10 cities to serve as major hubs for startup ecosystems by next year in a bid to promote balanced regional growth and create more jobs for young people, the finance ministry here said on Friday.

It will first designate four cities that house the country’s major science institutes — Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju and UIsan — as startup hubs this year, and name six more cities outside of the greater Seoul area with such potential next year, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy. The initiative was announced at a meeting on the economy and strategy on boosting startup ecosystem.

The ministry said the initiative aims to help promote balanced regional growth as the country’s startup infrastructure is mainly focused in Seoul, while other regions are suffering an outflow of population due to the lack of industrial infrastructure, reports Yonhap news agency.

South Korea ranks No. 20 across the world in terms of startup ecosystem competitiveness, with massive investment in research and development (R&D) projects and active patent applications, but only has three cities listed in top 500 startup cities, the ministry said, citing data from global startup ecosystem research platform StartupBlink.

The United States has 137 cities making the list, while Britain, Germany, China and Japan have 34, 27, 26 and six cities on the list, respectively.

Through the initiative, the government aims to foster five cities that can make the top 100 global startup list by 2030, the ministry said.

To this end, the government plans to help the cities serve as education hubs for young entrepreneurs and develop their own specialised area of industry, for example Daegu as a hub for robotics startups, Gwangju for artificial intelligence (AI) and smart energy, and Ulsan for future mobility.

It will also devise a comprehensive support package for the creation and growth of startups in the areas, comprising R&D, investment and networking support, as well as streamlining of regulations, the ministry explained.

The ministry said it will also help rural regions develop businesses utilising their regional resources in culture and tourism to stimulate the local economy, while providing benefits to companies outside of the Seoul metropolitan area when they make bids for public procurement projects.

“Building on the golden window of opportunity created by the semiconductor boom, the government will work to strengthen the foundations for our economy to reemerge as a global leader by advancing proactive industrial innovation and promoting startups,” Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said.

—IANS

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