JEOLLABUK-DO < invest Korea

Formation Ceremony of the Jeonbuk Regional Growth Fund (Seoul=Yonhap News) Noh Yong-seok, Acting Minister and First Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups (sixth from the right), poses for a commemorative photo with attendees at the 'Jeonbuk Regional Growth Fund Formation Ceremony' held at Lahan Hotel in Jeonju, Jeonbuk on the 20th. August 20, 2026. [Photo provided by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Resale and DB Prohibition] photo@yna.co.kr

According to Yonhap News,

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Sang-seo Lee = The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 20th at the 'Jeonbuk Regional Growth Fund' formation ceremony held at Lahan Hotel Jeonju that the Jeonbuk Venture Parent Fund has completed LP recruitment and is launching full-scale operations.

The 'Regional Growth Fund' is a regional parent fund created and operated by local communities, local governments, and the Korea Venture Investment Corp. (KVIC) as a regional investment platform. The target is to establish at least one fund in each of the 14 non-capital areas, supplying over KRW 2 trillion (USD 1.5 billion) in parent funds over 5 years, starting with KRW 450 billion (USD 337.5 million) this year.

Earlier in January, through the '2026 Regional Growth Fund Participating Local Government Recruitment Announcement', the Ministry selected 5 regions: Daegu-Gyeongbuk, Seonam (Jeonnam-Gwangju), Jeonbuk, Daejeon, and Ulsan. Among these, the first Regional Growth Fund was formed in Jeonbuk with a size of KRW 100 billion (USD 75 million).

The 'Jeonbuk Regional Growth Fund' uses KRW 60 billion (USD 45 million) from KVIC as seed money, with a total of 17 institutions participating, including local governments, Jeonbuk Bank, Wonkwang University, Hyundai Motor Group, and NH Nonghyup Bank.

Through a steering committee composed of Korea Venture Investment Corp., local governments, and major LPs, the investment sector will be finalized. The sub-fund investment project will begin next month to form sub-funds totaling KRW 180 billion (USD 135 million).

Noh Yong-seok, First Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "Starting with the Jeonbuk fund, we will build the Regional Growth Fund without a hitch to foster ventures and startups into growth engines for the region."

shlamazel@yna.co.kr



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Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (August 20, 2026)

** This article was translated from Korean.