Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Signs Letter of Intent (LOI) with Startup Genome to Strengthen Competitiveness as a Global Startup Hub City

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that on September 19 at 10 a.m. at City Hall, it will sign a Letter of Intent (LOI) with JF Gauthier, CEO of Startup Genome, a global startup ecosystem evaluation organization, to enhance the city’s competitiveness in global startup ecosystem rankings.

Startup Genome: A leading global startup ecosystem ranking organization that publishes an annual global startup ecosystem report. Busan entered the Asian top 20 for the first time in 2024 and ranked within the global top 80 among emerging startup ecosystems in 2025.

The LOI includes the following provisions: establishing a Startup Genome Busan office composed of local expert teams, jointly building a multi-year implementation roadmap, and providing continuous monitoring and execution support for the development of Busan’s startup ecosystem.

Startup Genome’s Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking is a crucial benchmark used by global venture capitalists (VCs) and accelerators (ACs) when making investment decisions. Therefore, the LOI with Startup Genome is expected to further accelerate the globalization of Busan’s startup ecosystem.

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Key Details of the LOI

• ●Purpose of the Agreement: To define strategic goals for Busan’s sustainable growth

• ●Areas of Collaboration: Policy consultation, strategic planning, development of ecosystem activation initiatives

• ●Main Provisions:

• ○(Startup Genome) Provide access to global ecosystem data, diagnostics, and strategic advisory tools; establish a Busan office staffed with local experts.

• ○(Busan Metropolitan City) Designate and coordinate the lead institution; organize inter-agency working groups; provide access to local data, stakeholders, and strategic initiatives.

Busan Metropolitan City and Startup Genome also specified in the LOI the establishment of a strategic partnership to develop Busan into a global startup hub where young people from Korea, Asia, and around the world aspire to launch startups.

This includes a shared goal to lead long-term prosperity, position Busan as a hub of the global innovation economy, build a startup ecosystem ranked within the global top 30, and foster an artificial intelligence (AI) startup ecosystem.

In addition, the two parties agreed to work together on:

• ●Increasing the growth rate and scale of Busan’s technology startup ecosystem

• ●Creating a dynamic AI startup ecosystem to transform Busan into one of Asia’s most attractive cities

• ●Generating tens of thousands of exciting and high-income jobs for present and future generations

• ●Attracting young talent and expanding exports to promote sustainable economic growth.

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Busan’s Recent Startup Ecosystem Achievements

During the signing ceremony, the city will also introduce its recent major achievements in startup ecosystem development, including:

• ●Establishment of the Busan Startup Investment Agency (2025)

• ●Creation of a 300 billion KRW Future Growth Venture Fund (2024) and a 200 billion KRW Innovation Scale-up Fund (2025), with plans to raise more than 2 trillion KRW in startup and venture funds by 2030

• ●Expansion of startup infrastructure such as Global Startup Hub Busan and Green Startup Town

The city will request Startup Genome’s cooperation to ensure these dramatic changes in the startup ecosystem are reflected in next year’s evaluation.

In response, CEO Gauthier expressed agreement and emphasized the need for global standardization of Busan’s startup-related data, pledging further cooperation in this area.

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Mayor’s Statement

Mayor Park Heong-joon said, “Through this agreement with Startup Genome, we will not only improve Busan’s global startup ecosystem ranking but also expand opportunities for local startups to access international capital markets, ensuring that they can tangibly feel the benefits.”