251211 Gyeongsangbuk-do & Gyeongbuk TP Hold 2025 Gyeongbuk Regional Investment Forum

Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Gyeongbuk Technopark (President Ha In-seong) held the 2025 Gyeongbuk Regional Investment Forum on the 10th at Laonjena Hotel (Maru & Ara Hall).

Through this forum, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongbuk Technopark aimed to broadly share the IPO achievements and investment attraction results of supported companies throughout 2025, while reviewing changes and outcomes in the regional investment ecosystem.

In the keynote speech, Ju-hyun Yoo, CEO of the Gyeongbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center, presented investment and growth strategies for Gyeongbuk companies and outlined plans for fostering a future technology startup ecosystem.

The forum also included an IPO celebration for CMTX, which successfully listed on KOSDAQ this year. CMTX, a company specializing in precision semiconductor process components, was highlighted as a success story that leveraged Gyeongbuk Technopark’s full-cycle growth support since 2023 to achieve its listing this year.

Additionally, an investment celebration was held for six companies—Smed, AforLab, Nest, BICHEDAM, Hoomanics, and ROGistics—that successfully raised a total of KRW 2.1 billion through the Gyeongbuk Technopark acceleration program. This event showcased the strong technological capabilities and growth potential of regional startups.

The second keynote was delivered by Jung Joong-kwon, Executive Director of Sungwoo, which successfully completed its KOSDAQ IPO in 2024. Sungwoo, a company specializing in key safety components for secondary batteries, shared step-by-step experiences and strategies for the IPO process. Attendees particularly appreciated the practical insights regarding challenges faced during the IPO and organizational culture changes post-listing.

In the latter part of the forum, ten institutions—including Daedeok Venture Partners, Inlight Ventures, IM Investment Partners, regional university joint technology holdings, the Korea Exchange, the Small and Medium Business Corporation, and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation—hosted investment and financing consultations and networking sessions.

The forum focused on IPO success stories and investment outcomes to highlight the growth potential of Gyeongbuk companies, while strengthening a cooperative investment ecosystem involving public, private, industrial, and academic sectors. Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongbuk Technopark plan to continue expanding support to establish a virtuous cycle linking investment, growth, and exit for regional companies.

Ha In-seong, President of Gyeongbuk Technopark, stated, “The government’s recent discussions on establishing a National Growth Fund represent an important turning point for providing new growth capital to regional companies. As the venture ecosystem expands from a central government-led model to a structure where local governments establish and participate in investment platforms, we will further strengthen Gyeongbuk Technopark’s role to help regional companies secure growth capital.”

Source: Hankyung https://www.hankyung.com/article/202512118449h