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Jeonbuk Startup Program for Foreigners: Up to KRW 100M (2026)

Jeonbuk Startup Program for foreigners: Up to KRW 100M, 2026

Short answer: Yes, foreign founders could apply for the Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy and Innovation’s 2026 Overseas Startup Attraction Support Program if they were participants in the K-Startup Grand Challenge. Selected startups received up to KRW 100 million in commercialization funding over two years, along with growth support and incubation space. The application periods for 2026 were March 30 – April 13, 2026, and July 10 – July 21, 2026, both of which are now closed.

Status as of 2026-10-17: Closed (main call closed April 13, 2026; additional call closed July 21, 2026).

Key facts

Row Detail
Program 2026 Overseas Startup Attraction Support Program
Organizer Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation
Who can apply Overseas startups participating in K-Startup Grand Challenge, with a non-Korean (co-)representative, a Korean corporate entity (or incorporated by deadline), and established within 7 years (or 10 years for new industries). Must relocate to Jeonbuk.
Foreigners eligible? Yes, a non-Korean national must be a (co-)representative.
Deadline (exact date) Main call: April 13, 2026 (closed)
Additional call: July 21, 2026 (closed)
Support / benefits Up to KRW 100 million in commercialization subsidy, startup growth programs (onboarding, investment linkage, business meetup, labor/admin support), incubation space support.
Official link https://event.jbci.or.kr

Who can apply

This program was open to overseas startups that were participants in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ K-Startup Grand Challenge program. To be eligible, your startup needed to meet all the following conditions:

  • A non-Korean national must be a (co-)representative of the company.
  • Your company must be a corporation (head office) in Korea, established under the Commercial Act. If your company was not yet incorporated, you needed to complete incorporation by the application deadline.
  • Your company must have been established within 7 years as of the announcement date. This means for the main call, your company needed to be established after March 29, 2019. For the additional call, it needed to be established after July 10, 2019.
  • If your startup is in a "new industries" field, you could receive support if your company was established within 10 years from the date of business commencement.
  • You must complete the relocation of your company’s headquarters to Jeonbuk-State within two months of signing the agreement after selection.

Your startup was not eligible if it met any of the following conditions:

  • Being regulated by financial institutions due to default.
  • Having arrears in national and local taxes.
  • Being restricted from participating in government support projects due to violations of subsidy laws.
  • Being included in the list of business owners in arrears disclosed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
  • For the additional call, companies confirmed to have submitted duplicate applications for the same project with other institutions were ineligible.
  • For the additional call, companies that had previously received subsidies through fraudulent means in startup support programs organized by the national or local governments were ineligible.
  • For the additional call, companies with objectively confirmed reasons that significantly contradicted the purpose and intent of this program were ineligible.

What you get

Selected startups received comprehensive support designed for successful settlement and growth in Jeonbuk:

  • Commercialization Subsidy: Up to KRW 100 million in total.
    • Year 1 (2026): KRW 40 million in commercialization funding.
    • Year 2 (2027): Up to KRW 60 million in follow-up commercialization funding. This amount was determined based on performance evaluation results after the first year. Companies not meeting evaluation thresholds might be excluded from Year 2 support.
  • Startup Growth Support: Mandatory participation in tailored programs for regional settlement and scale-up.
    • JB Onboarding Program: A 5-week intensive training covering company program overview, corporate relocation procedures, administrative practice, government subsidy accounting, and business matching.
    • Investment Linkage Support: Practical IR demo days and 1:1 in-depth mentoring sessions with investment professionals.
    • Business Meetup: Industry-specific expert consultations and matching with potential business partners, including Jeonbuk-based institutions and companies.
    • Labor & Administrative Support: Consulting on standard employment contract templates to minimize early-stage labor risks, visa application assistance, interpretation, and translation services.
  • Incubation Space Support: Assistance with an initial operational base for entry into Jeonbuk and relocation support to industry-specific specialized incubation institutions within the province. Conditions for this support varied depending on the incubation space.

Obligations for recipients:

  • You must maintain your head office in Jeonbuk-State and keep at least 2 full-time employees (including the CEO) for 3 years from the date of relocation.
  • Funding disbursement for Year 1 was only possible after successfully completing the mandatory Onboarding Program.

Ineligible expenditure items for subsidy: Personal vehicle maintenance, fines, penalties, donations, expenses unrelated to business purpose or personal in nature, activities with unclear purpose, transactions with individuals without a business license, and transactions with overseas companies (except for exhibition/trade show participation fees, business trip airfare, and specific software program rental fees like Adobe, Photoshop, ZOOM). VAT cannot be paid with subsidies.

How to apply (step by step)

The application process for the 2026 program involved online submission through the Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation website. Both application windows are now closed.

  1. Prepare documents: You needed to prepare several documents, including a business application form, business plan, consent forms, business participation pledge, copy of business registration certificate, corporate registry extract, tax certificates (National Tax Service Standard Financial Statement, VAT Base certificate, National and Local Tax Payment Certificate), and a credit rating confirmation. An SGI Seoul Guarantee Payment Bond (Government Subsidy) was a required document for the main call, and optional for the additional call. Optional documents included supporting materials for company achievements (patents, IP rights, certifications) and presentation materials (PPT or PDF). All documents had to be issued after the respective announcement date (March 30, 2026, for the main call; July 10, 2026, for the additional call).
  2. Submit online: All required documents had to be scanned into a single PDF file and uploaded via the Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation website (https://event.jbci.or.kr). In-person or postal submissions were not accepted.
  3. Selection process: The selection involved a multi-stage evaluation:
    • Document Review: (Main call: April 17, 2026; Additional call: July 28, 2026)
    • Field Inspection (Main call) / Online Meeting (Additional call): (Main call: Individual schedule after document review; Additional call: Individual schedule after document review)
    • Presentation Evaluation: (Main call: April 28, 2026; Additional call: August 4, 2026)
  4. Agreement Signing: Successful applicants were scheduled to sign agreements in May 2026 (main call) or August 2026 (additional call).

FAQ

Can international students in Korea apply?

The program was open to "overseas startups" that were participants in the K-Startup Grand Challenge, with a non-Korean national as a (co-)representative. It does not explicitly mention international students, but if an international student met all the company and representative eligibility criteria, including being a K-Startup Grand Challenge participant and having a Korean corporate entity, they would have been eligible.

Is there an application fee?

The notices do not mention any application fee for this program.

How long until I know the result?

The sources indicate the following evaluation dates: Document Review for the main call was April 17, 2026, and Presentation Evaluation was April 28, 2026. For the additional call, Document Review was July 28, 2026, and Presentation Evaluation was August 4, 2026. Agreement signing was scheduled for May (main call) or August (additional call) 2026. Specific result announcement dates are not provided in the sources; applicants should check the official channels for updates.

Can I apply if my company is not yet incorporated in Korea?

Yes, if your company was not yet incorporated in Korea, you needed to complete incorporation as a company under the Commercial Act by the application deadline.

Can I apply if I am currently participating in another government support program?

Overlapping support with similar programs operated by the central government or other local governments may be restricted. Applicants were strongly advised to check for potential conflicts before applying.

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Sources

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