A ‘Science and Technology Innovation Fund’ worth about 490 billion won is set to begin its full-scale activities as early as the second half of this year.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced today (the 4th) that it has signed a business agreement to establish a 494 billion won ‘Science and Technology Innovation Fund’ at the TP Tower in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.
The Science and Technology Innovation Fund is a specialized fund in the science sector, established to focus on investing in companies involved in domestic technology commercialization and those related to the 12 national strategic technologies.
Shinhan Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea, and Woori Bank, which have been selected as the dedicated banks for the second phase of the Korea Research Foundation’s Integrated EZbaro, a research fund management system, will contribute 250 billion won, 180 billion won, and 64 billion won respectively, with Shinhan Asset Management in charge of managing the fund.
The Science and Technology Innovation Fund will operate as a parent fund, financing subsidiary funds created by accelerators or venture capitalists that directly invest in companies.
The plan is to establish a parent fund of 125 billion won annually for the next four years, additionally matching private funds in the subsidiary funds, to create and invest in subsidiary funds worth over 250 billion won annually.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and Shinhan Asset Management aim to determine the main investment directions for the Science and Technology Innovation Fund by April this year, select subsidiary fund managers in June, establish the subsidiary funds by December, and start investing in companies from the second half of the year.
Minister of Science and ICT, Yoo Sang-im, stated, “The Science and Technology Innovation Fund will play an important role in commercializing innovative technologies in Korea and supporting our technologies to maintain competitiveness in the international market.”
[Photo Source: Yonhap News / Provided by Ministry of Science and ICT]
■ Report Tips
▷ Phone: 02-781-1234, 4444
▷ Email: kbs1234@kbs.co.kr
▷ KakaoTalk: Search ‘KBS Report’, add channel
▷ Subscribe to KBS News on Naver and YouTube!