The Ministry of SMEs and Startups launched this year’s biggest startup festival in South Korea, the COMEUP 2020, from November 19-21. The three-day event aims to connect startups and business ventures under the theme “Meet the Future – Post Pandemic.”
The COMEUP event includes virtual lectures and panel discussions that would discuss the changes in three main areas during and post-coronavirus era: Social System, Work, and Life.
Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun gave the opening remarks to start Asia’s most prominent startup event. Park welcomed all the participants, speakers, guests, and online viewers and congratulated the organizing committee and staff for making the event possible.
The COMEUP Organizing Committee planned the event as an online, contact-free global startup festival amid the ongoing pandemic. The committee, co-chaired by Deputy Minister Junghoon Cha, is composed of 22 startup experts.
Meet the Future – Post Pandemic
The event would discuss changes to industry and lifestyle around the startup ecosystem due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event would discuss the changes in three main areas: Social System, Work, and Life.
The people and the government worked together to battle the COVID-19 pandemic through the successful development of diagnostic test kits and treatments, which proved useful to other countries.
The COMEUP event represents an opportunity for startups and new ventures to highlight their innovations and expertise, playing a pivotal role in combatting the effects of the pandemic socially and financially.
President Moon Jae-in delivered the congratulatory speech virtually for the COMEUP Event, welcoming startups, venture companies, investors, and innovators. Moon said that South Korea could stand as a model for containing and overcoming the challenges of coronavirus.
Startups and innovative business ventures took the lead in shaping the country’s post-COVID-19 future with new technologies.
“This year, geared with confidence gained by successfully responding to COVID-19, it has become a genuine global startup festival celebrated with startups, venture businesses, and investors from all around the world.”
-President Moon Jae-in.
COVID-19 and Fresh new Ideas
Sophie Kim, CEO of Market Kurly, pointed out that many startups turned the current pandemic crisis into various opportunities. Resolving a society’s problem became the maxim for many startups. Kim also discussed different startups showcasing their respective expertise and innovations adapted to the pandemic.
In particular, Market Kurly started as a delivery service in 2015 with customers’ convenience in mind. However, the company shifted its core value to safety aside from convenience during the pandemic. The developer of the Corona map application aimed to help people determine areas affected by COVID 19. Meanwhile, Seegene developed diagnostic test kits in just two weeks.
Healthcare businesses such as Noom and Medicare created applications that assist people with health concerns in their own homes.
Various industries, such as in the education and e-commerce sectors, saw a boom in artificial intelligence to improve content delivery and other online services.
Visit COMEUP 2020 website to view the event’s programs. https://www.kcomeup.com/prog/program-main-event.jsp?
