• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.167-178
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the direct investment decision factors in the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Vietnam, and to contribute to the creation of domestic jobs and the revitalization of the inter-Korean economy. According to the analysis, most of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Vietnamese investment companies are entering the complex for the purpose of utilizing cheap labor, cheap factory locations, sales/development of local markets, and bypass export production bases in third countries. This can be divided into production-efficient investors using differences in production price such as labor costs and market-oriented investors to sell and expand the local market, which seems to be consistent with global direct investment patterns such as Nike, Apple, and Amazon. However, even if the North Korea-U.S. denuclearization talks ease or lift sanctions, Vietnamese investors' willingness to invest in the North Korea has been most burdened by the possibility of closing special economic zones due to political risks. Last but not least, it is important to note that those willing to invest in North Korea are mostly smaller enterprises in textiles, sewing, footwear and leather industries-those that benefit from low-cost labor. Since their size is small, they need policy support in financing, especially in the early stages of their business. Even after they grow past the early stages, those without collateral would still need state guarantee letters to get financing. Thus, it is worth considering to use the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund to compensate commercial banks for bad loan loss or for low-interest loans for smaller SMEs. The interviews with SMEs found that red-tape is one of the biggest difficulties they face. Thus, it is recommended that a one-stop service agency should be established to cover all processes and issues related to inter-Korean economic cooperation to eliminate redundancy and expediate government support for SMEs.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.78-90
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to explore the direction of developing policies for parks and green spaces for inclusive urban planning and regeneration. By reviewing the status, budget, and laws pertaining to urban parks in Korea, as well as assessing the inclusivity of urban parks, this study revealed the problems and limitations in Korea as follows. First, the urban park system, which takes into account indicators such as park area per capita and green space ratio, is focused only on quantitative expansion. Second, the distribution of urban parks is unequal; hence, the higher the number of vulnerable residents, the lower the quality of urban parks and green spaces. Moreover, this study focused on the UK central government, along with the five local governments, including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, and Liverpool. Through an analysis of the contexts and contents establishing UK park and green space policies that can reduce socioeconomic inequalities while at the same time increase inclusiveness. This study discovered the following. The government's awareness of the necessity of tackling socioeconomic inequalities to make an inclusive society, the change in the urban regeneration policies from physical redevelopment to neighborhood renewal, and the survey and research on the correlation of parks and green spaces, inequality, health, and well-being provided the background for policy establishment. As a result, the creation of an inclusive society has been reflected in the stated goals of the UK's national plan and the strategies for park and green space supply and qualitative improvement. Deprived areas and vulnerable groups have been included in many local governments' park and green space policies. Also, tools for analyzing deficiencies in parks and methods for examining the qualitative evaluation of parks were developed. Besides, for the sustainability of each project, various funding programs have been set up, such as raising funds and fund-matching schemes. Different ways of supporting partnerships have been arranged, such as the establishment of collaborative bodies for government organizations, allowing for the participation of private organizations. The study results suggested five policy schemes, including conducting research on inequality and inclusiveness for parks and green spaces, developing strategies for improving the quality of park services, identifying tools for analyzing policy areas, developing park project models for urban regeneration, and building partnerships and establishing support systems.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.31-42
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• 2021

The importance of startups and ventures in the Korean economy is growing. This study measured whether the start-up and venture ecosystem is growing, including the growth of startups and ventures. The startup and venture ecosystem consists of startups and ventures, investors, and government, which are the main actors of the 'ecosystem', and their movements were measured with 25 quantitative indicators. Based on the original data of the time series from 2010 to 2020, the startup and venture ecosystem index was calculated by applying weights through the comprehensive stock index method and AHP. In 2020, the startup and venture ecosystem grew 2.9 times compared to 2010, and the increase in the government index had a significant impact on growth. Also, the individual indicators that make up each index in 2020, the corporate index had the greatest impact on the growth of the number of 100-billion ventures, while the investment index had a recovery amount and the government index had a significant impact. Based on the original data, the startup and venture ecosystem index was analyzed by dividing it into ecosystems (startup ecosystem and venture ecosystem), industry by industry (all industries and manufacturing industry), and region (Korea and Busan). As a result, the growth of the startup ecosystem over the past decade has been slightly larger than that of the venture ecosystem. The manufacturing was lower than that of all industries, and Busan was lower than that of the nation. This study was intended to use it for the establishment and implementation of support policies by developing, measuring, and monitoring the startup and venture ecosystem index. This index has the advantage of being able to research the interrelationships between major actors, and anyone can calculate the index using the results of official statistical surveys. In the future, it is necessary to continuously update this content to understand how economic and social events or policy support have affected the startup and venture ecosystem.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.25-37
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to survey startup founders within 7 years of founding the importance and satisfaction of the components of the scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem at the national level in Korea and analyze the direction of scale-up policy by component using IPA (importance-performance analysis). Since the perception of founders, who are the subjects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, affects the quantity and quality of start-ups, research is needed to analyze and diagnose the perception of scale-up components. For the development of the national economy and entrepreneurial ecosystem, companies that emerge from startups to scale-up and unicorns must be produced, and for this, elements for the scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem are needed. The results of this study are as follows. First, the importance ranking of the components of the scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem recognized by founders was in the order of "Financial support by growth stage," "Support for customized scale-up for enterprises," "Improvement of regulations," "Funds dedicated to scale-up," "large-scale investment," and "nurturing technical talents." Second, the factors that should be intensively improved in the importance-satisfaction matrix in the future were 'Pan-Government Integration Promotion Plan', 'Scale-Up Specialized Organization Operation', 'Company Customized Scale-Up Support', 'Regulatory Improvement', and 'Building a Korean Scale-Up Model'. As a result, various and large financial capital for the scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem, diversification of scale-up programs by business sector, linkage of start-ups and scale-up support, deregulation of new technologies and new industries, strengthening corporate-tailored scale-up growth capabilities, and providing overseas networking opportunities can be derived. In addition, it is expected to contribute to policy practice and academic work with research that derives the components of the domestic scale-up entrepreneurial ecosystem and diagnoses its perception.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.17-32
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• 2023

In recent years, the need for social ventures that aim to grow while solving social problems through the efficiency and effectiveness of commercial organizations in the market has increased, while there is a limit to how much the government and the public can do to solve social problems. Against this background, the number of social venture startups is increasing in the domestic startup ecosystem, and interest in impact investors, which are investors in social ventures, is also increasing. Therefore, this research utilized judgment analysis technology to objectively analyze the validity and weight of judgment information based on the cognitive process and decision-making environment in the investment decision-making of impact investors. We proceeded with the research by constructing three classifications; first, investment priorities at the initial investment stage for financial benefit and return on investment as an investor, second, the political skills of the entrepreneurs (teams) for the social impact and ripple power, and social venture coexistence and solidarity, third, the social mission of a social venture that meets the purpose of an impact investment fund. As a result of this research, first of all, the investment decision-making priorities of impact investors are the expertise of the entrepreneur (team), the potential rate of return when the entrepreneur (team) succeeds, and the social mission of the entrepreneur (team). Second, impact investors do not have a uniform understanding of the investment decision-making factors, and the factors that determine investment decisions are different, and there are differences in the degree of the weighting. Third, among the various investment decision-making factors of impact investment, "entrepreneur's (team's) networking ability", "entrepreneur's (team's) social insight", "entrepreneur's (team's) interpersonal influence" was relatively lower than the other four factors. The practical contribution through this research is to help social ventures understand the investment determinant factors of impact investors in the process of financing, and impact investors can be expected to improve the quality of investment decision-making by referring to the judgment cases and analysis of impact investors. The academic contribution is that it empirically investigated the investment priorities and weighting differences of impact investors.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.215-235
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• 2024

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology is recognized as a key technology that will determine future national competitiveness, competition for AI technology and industry promotion policies in major countries is intensifying. This study aims to present implications for domestic policy making by analyzing the policies of major countries on the start-up of AI companies, which are the basis of the AI industry ecosystem. The top four countries and the EU for the number of new investment attraction companies in the 2023 AI Index announced by the HAI Research Institute at Stanford University in the United States were selected, The United States enacted the National AI Initiative Act (NAIIA) in 2021. Through this law, The US Government is promoting continued leadership in the United States in AI R&D, developing reliable AI systems in the public and private sectors, building an AI system ecosystem across society, and strengthening DB management and access to AI policies conducted by all federal agencies. In the 14th Five-Year (2021-2025) Plan and 2035 Long-term Goals held in 2021, China has specified AI as the first of the seven strategic high-tech technologies, and is developing policies aimed at becoming the No. 1 AI global powerhouse by 2030. The UK is investing in innovative R&D companies through the 'Future Fund Breakthrough' in 2021, and is expanding related investments by preparing national strategies to leap forward as AI leaders, such as the implementation plan of the national AI strategy in 2022. Israel is supporting technology investment in start-up companies centered on the Innovation Agency, and the Innovation Agency is leading mid- to long-term investments of 2 to 15 years and regulatory reforms for new technologies. The EU is strengthening its digital innovation hub network and creating the InvestEU (European Strategic Investment Fund) and AI investment fund to support the use of AI by SMEs. This study aims to contribute to analyzing the policies of major foreign countries in making AI company start-up policies and providing a basis for Korea's strategy search. The limitations of the study are the limitations of the countries to be analyzed and the failure to attempt comparative analysis of the policy environments of the countries under the same conditions.