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“Busan Future Growth Venture Fund” Nearing Completion – Busan to Build a 2-Trillion-Won Venture Investment Ecosystem by 2030

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Mayor Park Heong-joon of Busan Metropolitan City announced that the city’s “Busan Future Growth Venture Fund” with a scale of 300 billion KRW is now in its final stage, and by 2030, Busan aims to build a venture investment ecosystem totaling 2 trillion KRW.

Since the start of fund formation in 2020, the city has established 69 venture funds totaling 1.422 trillion KRW. In comparison, during the five years prior to 2020, only about 200 billion KRW had been formed. However, from the beginning of Mayor Park’s term in 2021 through May 2025, that figure surged to 1.822 trillion KRW.

The regional share of venture investment has also grown steadily, from 1.6% in 2021 to 2.8% in 2024.

Despite these efforts, the concentration of venture capital in the Seoul metropolitan area remains a challenge. Non-capital regions account for only about 20% of all venture investments, with Busan receiving just 2.8%—indicating an ongoing shortage of stable capital supply for local startups and ventures.

To address this, Busan launched the Busan Future Growth Venture Fund in 2024, the first region-led fund in the country. Its sub-funds worth 220 billion KRW—representing over 70% of the total target—have already been formed, with the remaining 80 billion KRW expected to be completed in June.

Over the next 3 to 4 years, more than 1 trillion KRW will be intensively invested in Busan-based companies.

In addition, the city was selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ “Regional Era Venture Fund” program in February 2025. A separate fund of at least 100 billion KRW will be established within this year, with full-scale investments set to begin in 2026.

By 2030, Busan plans to continue building out the fund to reach a total investment ecosystem of 2 trillion KRW. The city also aims to raise its venture investment-to-GRDP ratio to 4.7%, creating an environment in which aspiring young entrepreneurs can secure investments based on their innovative ideas and entrepreneurial drive.