A Plan to Build Startup Park in Songdo

IFEZ Commissioner Lee Won-jae (second from right) discusses its “Startup/Venture Polis project” with officials from Imperial College London on Oct. 16.

The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) Authority has recently discussed cooperation with Imperial College London on its plan to build a startup/venture town in Songdo International City in Incheon, Korea.

IFEZ Commissioner Lee Won-jae met with Prashanthini Jeyarajan, an industry partnerships and commercialization executive of Imperial College London, on Oct. 16 and discussed cooperation on its plan to establish “Startup/Venture Polis POOM” in Songdo International City.

Imperial College London boasts an outstanding research and development performance, excellent cooperation with corporations, and one of the best startup incubator systems in Britain in the fields of medicine and biotechnology. When IFEZ Commissioner Lee Won-jae visited the university in September, he passionately explained the POOM project and suggested cooperation between the two institutions.

At the Oct. 16 meeting in Incheon, the IFEZ and Imperial College London agreed to cooperate to carry out the IFEZ’s POOM project. For this, they agreed to share information on programs aimed at fostering startups and work together for their development.

The IFEZ commissioner said, “We will maintain various forms of cooperation with Imperial College London, including information sharing and the operation of exchange programs between startups. I will do my best to successfully establish the POOM project and contribute to innovative growth of the Incheon City economy.”

The startup/venture polis project is aimed at building the infrastructure needed to vitalize the growth of new industries that are shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In July, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups decided to provide support for Incheon’s plan to establish a startup park. For this project, the IFEZ will invest a total of 24.1 billion won, including 12.1 billion won from the central government, by the end of next year. The IFEZ plans to build three buildings in Tomorrow City in Songdo, one in next June for fostering startups and the remaining two by next November as a space for convenient facilities, rest and cooperation for startups.

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