Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Minister of SMEs and Startups, Young Lee, attended ‘Biban 2023’ held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In November of last year, Khalid A. Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, attended COMEUP, the largest startup event in Korea, and had a bilateral meeting with Young Lee, Minister of SMEs and Startups of the Republic of Korea.

Afterwards, the two ministers met again at the Davos Forum held in Switzerland in January, and discussed on participation in Biban by Korean startups and venture companies. In a keynote speech given right after the opening ceremony, Minister Lee emphasized the dynamism and competitiveness of Startup Korea and the Korean venture ecosystem. 

Furthermore, Minister Lee suggested that Korean startups go hand in hand with Saudi Arabia to create synergy and move toward the global market together.

Minister Lee said, “The cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the field of SMEs and venture companies, which has been prepared right after my visit to the United States in September of last year, has finally opened the door.” “While the Middle East boom in the 1970s was centered on construction, petrochemicals, and plants, the second boom in the Middle East will be focused on new technologies such as deep tech. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will become a sales staff so that this effort can lead to great opportunities for building Startup Korea,” she added.