April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The government said on Dec. 11 that it will expand a second startup complex near Seoul in a bid to further boost promising local startups and attract foreign companies.

The 2nd Techno Valley in Pangyo, just south of Seoul, is designed to nurture some 1,400 startups, offering workspace and consulting services for funding at cheap prices, according to the finance ministry.

Pangyo – Korea’s answer to Silicon Valley in the US -- is already home to many technology companies, including NCsoft, a leading game developer.

First Launched in 2011, the country’s 661,000-square-meter startups complex supported 70,577 employees in 2015.

The second Pangyo Techno Vally will nestle on a 440,000-square-meter lot with its construction to be finished by 2022.

The government wants the new startups complex to create new value and jobs through innovation, instead of having employees competing against each other over existing jobs.

The Korean version of Silicon Valley crossed the 70 trillion won (US$60.40 billion) line in gross sales for the first time in 2015.

The number of companies operating at Pangyo Techno Valley reached 1,121 as of the end of 2015, up 119 firms or 11.9 percent on-year. Their total sales recorded 70.27 trillion won, also up 1.3 percent from a year before, according to the Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion report.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)