South Korea

Busan

MEMBERS:

Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation Busan Metropolitan City

Busan aims to become an innovative startup city global talent and investors flock to. We are also pursuing qualitative growth by expanding startup infrastructure, programs and funds. As an open city and home to global talent, Busan welcomes startups and future entrepreneurs.

Ecosystem by the Numbers

EARLY-STAGE FUNDING

<$50 m

GLOBAL AVG.

$687 m

ECOSYSTEM VALUE

<$100 m

GLOBAL AVG.

$28.6 bn

MEDIAN SEED ROUND

$271 k

GLOBAL AVG.

$671 k

MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND

$2.1 m

GLOBAL AVG.

$4.7 m

SOFT. ENGINEER SALARY

$39 k

GLOBAL AVG.

$46 k

Smart Cities

Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation are operating the Busan Smart City Living Lab, which attracts global smart city startups. By 2024, the city will also see a cluster for five innovation projects which will be located in the Busan Eco Delta City spread over 2.8 square kilometers. This will create a model of an innovative industrial ecosystem that can implement creative business models related to big data, IoT, AI and robots.

Marine Tech

Broader Busan is home to ~90 percent of South Korea’s shipbuilding companies, including Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and STX. STEM Village, a proposed marine science and technology industry innovation center, will house an incubation center, marine equipment, a sensor inspection and calibration center, a STEM fusion research center and marine tech startups. Just over half of the country’s marine companies are based in Busan.

Reasons to Move Your Startup to Busan

COVID-19 Policy

South Korea introduced a $9.8 billion stimulus package in order to cushion the impact of COVID-19, including subsidies to help affected SMEspay employees. Busan City is providing a total of $150 million in public welfare subsidies to small business owners suffering from the COVID-19 crisis in the region. Also, the Busan Credit Guarantee Foundation allocated special funds to support small business owners.

Strong Infrastructure

Busan is home to 61 startup incubators, 12 venture capital firms, 13 accelerators, 12 angel groups, 27 funds worth ~$465 million, Busan Startup Week and the Startup Conference BOUNCE.

Tax Incentives

High-tech companies with foreign investors receive a 100 percent exemption from corporate income tax for 5 years. Tax credits are available for some startup investments and merger or acquisition of innovative SMEs.