• Korean Business Review
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.157-174
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• 2006

In the past, because Korean private venture capital firms could get government support and subsidies, they could be survived in the market without having required management capabilities, advanced venture investment techniques, and professional supporting agencies and institutions. However, business environments have changed a lot recently. Now, only through identifying the optimal financial structures(the ratio of debt to equity), Korean private venture capital firms can minimize investment risks and ensure higher profits. Since Modigliani and Miller(1958) criticized the existence of the optimal financial structure, there have been numerous studies on the optimal financial structure of firms. However, there is no empirical study investigating the financial structure of venture capital firms. The purpose of this article is to analyze the relationship between firm characteristics, financial security indies, and financial profit indices of korean private venture capital firms. We gathered the data from various sources, including the web pages and the financial statements for 2003 and 2004. By using the student's t-test and the correlation analysis, we showed that there are differences in the current ratio and the ratio of net profit to net sales between new and old korean private venture capital firms. Even though it is known that korean private venture capital firms does not have enough knowledge and investment technique to compete with global venture capital firms, our result show that old korean private venture capital firms have already built some knowledge and understanding of venture capital investing.

• STI Policy Review
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.66-86
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• 2016

This paper discusses government-backed venture capital as a science, technology and innovation (STI) policy instrument from the Chinese perspective. China aspires to overhaul its growth model by vigorously promoting technological innovation and entrepreneurship. Like many other countries, however, funding gaps constrain new technology ventures in the early stages of venture development. To plug this gap, China attempts to use government-backed venture capital as a policy instrument. Super-size central government-backed VCs were set up and dozens of similar schemes are in operation at local levels. This paper provides a case study of such government-backed venture capital schemes in China. It documents the background conditions explaining the country's need for public venture capital, describes the distinct features of program design in such schemes, and assesses the impact of government-backed venture capital.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.1-17
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• 2007

There are many different types of risk capital competing for deals in the korean entrepreneurial capital market. In the past, even though korean private venture capitalists did not have their distinctive competitive advantages, due to government support and subsidies, they could be survived in the market. However, the government controlled area has changed to a market driven area which emphasizes market forces and competition rather than support and protection. In order to be competitive, Korean private venture capital firms need to recruit high calibre professionals and build required financial skills for wise entrepreneurial investments. The purpose of this article is to analyze the relationships among firm characteristics, human resources, and investment strategies of korean venture capital firms. We can find that the asset size of venture capital firms has a positive effect on the size of their human resources. However, we can not find any relationship between firm characteristics and investment strategies of venture capitals. Even though we find some evidences among some variables, we need to interpret the results very carefully. Further research would be needed to carried out to clarify the disputable interpretations and our understanding of this area.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.33-50
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• 2014

Though South Korea has world-class volume of Venture Capital Investment, as a share of GDP, early stage venture investments are still short, and investments are concentrated in high technology area and Capital area. Because of the high barriers to entry of the new IPO and M&A market, the venture capital companies undergo difficulties in profit. High-tech ventures face difficulties in raising money from outside investors due to information asymmetry between venture investors and venture companies. To resolve these problems, developed countries's government make a co-funding investment scheme with private sectors and design incentive mechanism such as receiving knowledge of the reputable investors' joint venture. Korean central and local government can benchmark those of things. For example, the expansion of the investment volume with private sector, region-specific matching fund and venture capital's exit path diversification such as M&A through the establishment of a business venture eco-system. At the same time, venture companies are to make an efforts to enhance the ability of screening for venture companies and the value for investment activities through a joint venture investments.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.12
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• pp.195-210
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• 2020

This study describes the structure of the capital markets for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startup companies in Korea, which is an emerging market that has experienced drastic changes. The overall capital market can be divided into private and public capital markets. In the private capital market, most of the demand for capital comes from non-listed private firms, including startups and SMEs. In the case of SMEs and startups, the KOSDAQ, the Korea New Exchange (KONEX), and primary collateralized bond obligations (P-CBOs) are part of the public capital market. SMEs and startups are generally incapable of raising sufficient capital owing to their low credit ratings, and they largely have limited access to primary markets to issue shares and borrow money. The Korean government has developed a systematic financial aid program to provide funds to these companies. The fund for SMEs has significantly contributed to the development of the venture capital market. Many Korean banks provide substantial lending to SMEs, but this lending is available only because of the Korean government's loan recovery guarantee. Furthermore, SMEs can issue corporate debt in the form of primary collateralized bond obligations through government guarantees, but such debt issuances have placed increasing pressure on public guarantee institutions.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.21-44
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• 2016

There has been a surge of interest in private equity as an alternative corporate restructuring scheme to complement the current institutional forms such as workouts and court receivership. By empirically examining whether private equity in Korea can improve investee companies, we find that while private equity in Korea did not sacrifice the long-term growth potential of investee firms, it did not improve their profitability (e.g. ROA, ROE, and ROS) or growth (e.g. sales growth) either. Both the negative correlation between business performance and firm age and our empirical results showing that young firms were favored by private equity for investment imply that Korean private equity may perform as growth capital, similar to venture capital rather than as buyouts for corporate restructuring.

• STI Policy Review
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.75-97
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• 2014

Entrepreneurial financing, such as publicly initiated venture capital or grant schemes, serves as an important policy instrument that aims to bridge the financing gap facing young, innovative businesses, a gap that is mainly due to higher risk and growing uncertainty, and to strategically promote the creation of new ventures through the revitalization of their venture capital industries. This study examines public venture capital initiatives in Australia, Canada, and Sweden, and discovered that all three countries actively foster their venture capital industry through the formation of funds or the provision of tax incentives. It is notable that the majority of financing initiatives heavily depend on supply-side measures rather than demand-driven policies that focus on stimulating private investment in technological innovations and discoveries. This paper discusses in-depth the policy impact of public financing initiatives and their subsequent side-effects raised in the process such as overlapping in funding structure across the country, lack of monitoring and evaluation for feedback, fragmentation across the government ministries and agencies, and competition with the private sector, which may cause inefficiency as a result of public intervention. Financial constraints may arise for many reasons, partly resulting from the lack of investment readiness of young entrepreneurs. This signals a policy shift towards the creation of market-driven demand away from the traditional supply-push approach, and is a grand challenge to policymakers in entrepreneurial financing. Attention is leaning towards the efficiency and effectiveness of these public-financing initiatives in terms of their policy roles. It is worth noting that policy should focus on generating synergy so available resources can be channeled into the early, risky stage of new ventures, working as facilitator to the achievement of an intended policy goal.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.206-222
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• 1997

The conventional analysis with which justifies government intervention of the private sector's innovation activities is the market failure approach. According to such analysis, fund allocation through autonomous market mechanisms is not optimal in technology financing because of the disparity between the desirable level of investment for society as a whole and that for private firms. To optimize the fund allocation, public policies such as subsidy, preferencial loan and venture capital investment programs are designed for technology development projects performed by private firms. They, however, have not been effective in increasing private investment for such projects. In most cases, it was found that little considerations given to the relationship between uncertainty embodied in technology development projects and each types of financing. With respect to optimizing fund allocation, technology development projects should be financed by different means according to their probability of success and the expected value of technology. Employing various theoretical models on financing decision-making we verify here that technology development projects to be supported by commercial banks or venture capital institutions is limited contingent upon levels of uncertainty adn expected value. Under the assumption that financial institutions are risk averse, loan or investment can be available only if the probability of success of the project is higher than the probability premium and the current market rate of interest. Therefore, the projects that have lower probability of success and/or small expected return are excluded from commercial loan or investment programs. However, the remaining projects, whose probability of success is low but with high expected return, may be applied under government subsidy programs. To achieve optimality of fund allocation and to activate technology financing, we conclude that there should be a systematic division of role among financial institutions including government commercial banks, and venture capital institutions.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.97-110
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• 2020

This paper is on the policy proposal for venture ecosystem. First, one of the three secrets of the US venture ecosystem is the law of 50:50. Angel capital investment is as important as venture capital investment. Although professional angel investors and accelerators account for as much as VC in the venture ecosystem, they are ignored from policy considerations. We argue that the revision of related law is urgent. Second, large US firms invest more in M&As than in internal R&D. Therefore, accelerators and professional angel investors could make effective investment recovery after investing in a startup company. In other words, angel capital does not come in without secondary market development. Angel capital and secondary markets are the two pillars of the venture ecosystem. The government alone is difficult to develop a secondary market. This is why the private sector should come in and introduce corporate venture capital (CVC). Third, we believe the policy direction for national economic growth should be extended from the startup to scale-up. This is because the startup's sales and job creation will start in five years. While the previous study focused on funding (venture financing), this paper aims to balance all three stages of a venture: startup, growth, and recovery, which are the life cycle of a venture company or venture investment. In particular, we propose specific policies in each chapter to improve practical application.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.30-49
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• 2022

As industrialized countries transition into knowledge economies, there is a rising demand for talent and innovation. Support for start-ups through incubation, acceleration, and venture capital has turned into a key area of investment, with public and private actors searching for the next unicorn. This article examines start-up visas as an emerging policy tool in the global competition for highly innovative entrepreneurs. The study builds on a sample of eight national start-up immigration programs and applies human-capital citizenship (Ellermann, 2020) as a guiding framework. The article first proposes a conceptualization of start-up visas, suggesting that innovation and entrepreneurship also be considered in the theorization of skills. Second, the study examines the implications of start-up visas for international mobility. By focusing on the logic of entry requirements and subsequent benefits accrued through the status as a start-up founder, the findings of this study highlight the role of start-up visas in expanding privileged pathways to cross-border mobility. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for policy and research concerned with the international mobility of start-ups