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Busan Metropolitan City and Plug and Play Vice President Jojo Flores Discuss Collaboration for Global Expansion of Local Startups

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that on September 22, at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1, it held discussions with Jojo Flores, Vice President of Plug and Play (PNP), regarding cooperation measures to accelerate the global expansion of local startups during his visit to Fly Asia 2025.

Plug and Play (PNP) is the world’s largest accelerator headquartered in Silicon Valley. It has nurtured numerous global big tech companies such as Google and PayPal, and as a leading player in the startup ecosystem, it connects startups with venture capital and provides acceleration programs.

At the meeting, Mayor Park expressed his gratitude to Vice President Flores for attending Fly Asia 2025 to deliver a keynote speech despite his busy schedule. He also requested that Plug and Play, along with Airalo and Avathon—two unicorn companies affiliated with PNP—actively cooperate to revitalize the local startup ecosystem by participating in Fly Asia 2025.

Vice President Flores, recalling his past experience of leading the establishment of Plug and Play’s Asia-Pacific headquarters, expressed his anticipation for collaboration with Busan Metropolitan City, noting that a dedicated Korea Task Force Team (TFT) has been organized to implement this initiative.

Flores further stated that he is interested in implementing the world’s first cooperation cases in Busan that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce energy consumption in the city’s strong sectors such as maritime, port, and aviation. He added that, taking Fly Asia as an opportunity, he is also considering concrete discussions and future partnerships with related institutions in Busan.

In addition, Flores highlighted the importance of strengthening partnerships among Busan Metropolitan City, corporations, and universities as a means of future innovation. He expressed his expectations for collaboration with universities in the Busan area, citing Plug and Play’s cooperative projects with San Jose University near its Silicon Valley headquarters as an example.

Mayor Park responded by emphasizing that Plug and Play operates over 100 accelerator programs across 70 overseas branches worldwide, urging active cooperation with local startups by leveraging this global network. He further expressed hope that the establishment of PNP’s Busan branch, as specified in the Letter of Intent (LOI) signed in May, would accelerate the global expansion of local startups.

Following Mayor Park’s remarks, Vice President Flores explained that in addition to his keynote at Fly Asia 2025, he would engage in open networking sessions with executives from major Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Heavy Industries (Group Leader Choi Hee-kyung) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (Managing Director Chae Gyu-il), to discuss potential cooperation.

He also announced plans to participate in a roundtable hosted by the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, involving leaders such as Jeong Hyun-min (Executive Vice Chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Cho Ju-han (Director of BNK Marine Finance Department), Jang Hee-sang (President of Taewoong Group), and Won Han-gyeong (CEO of Hoban Construction CVC PlanH Ventures), where they will explore innovation strategies for traditional local industries. Flores expressed his intent to actively collaborate with local startups in the future.

Concluding the meeting, Mayor Park Heong-joon reiterated that “it is important that Plug and Play’s cooperation leads to tangible growth and investment for local companies, producing results that businesses can truly feel,” once again emphasizing practical outcomes.