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Hong Jong-cheol, CEO of iXcel under Infobank's Investment Business Division, has been selected as the fifth president of the Korea Association of Early-Stage Investment Accelerators (KAIA).
According to KAIA on the 16th, the association's board of directors conducted a secret ballot and elected Hong Jong-cheol (CEO) as the next presidential candidate. Hong (CEO) competed for the presidency against Myung Seung-eun, CEO of Venture Square. This was the first competitive election held since the association's launch.
Hong (CEO) will officially take office after final approval at the general meeting of regular members to be held in February next year. The term of the current president, Jeon Hwa-seong, CEO of CNTech, runs until February next year.
KAIA is an organization launched in 2024 through the merger of the Korea Accelerator Association and the Korea Early-Stage Investment Institutional Investor Association. Members include ACs (accelerators), VCs (venture capital firms), regional Creative Economy Innovation Centers, technology holding companies, and government-affiliated institutional investors.
After joining Infobank in 2011, Hong (CEO) has led the investment business division iXcel since 2015, focusing on early-stage startup investment and cultivation. He is currently also serving as vice president of KAIA.
Hong (CEO) proposed expanding early-stage investment funding and establishing a mutual growth structure in the investment ecosystem as the association's key operational directions. The plan includes expanding policy cooperation and support for member companies to back ACs' efforts in discovering promising startups and conducting investment and incubation activities.
Five core tasks were outlined: △expanding government contribution funds, such as fund of funds (Korea Venture Fund) △increasing contributions from mid- and large-scale limited partners (LPs) to ACs △improving regulations that restrict early-stage investment activities △establishing a mutual growth structure in the investment ecosystem △and expanding ACs' global outreach.
First, to increase early-stage investment funds, the association plans to request expanded government contributions and strengthen platforms where private contributors can verify ACs' investment performance and roles. It will also work to refine related systems so that new business models, such as the venture studio model, can be successfully implemented in the field.
Cooperation among member companies focuses on connecting the strengths held by each AC according to their size and region. The plan is to broaden the foundation for cooperation by combining the financial power and networks of large ACs with the expertise of small ACs, and enabling metropolitan and regional ACs to form region-specific joint funds or engage in joint acceleration.
The linkage between ACs and VCs will also be strengthened. The goal is to build a phased collaboration system where ACs discover and cultivate promising early-stage companies and VCs follow up with subsequent investments, thereby reducing funding gaps for startups.
In the global sector, plans include expanding cooperation with overseas ACs and strengthening activities to introduce domestic ACs and investment target companies to overseas contributors. The association will also expand local bases and networks to help member companies enter overseas markets.
Policy responses and support for member companies at the association level will also be expanded. The association intends to regularly survey field challenges together with the government, the National Assembly, and relevant institutional investors, and hold policy consultation meetings to ensure that industry opinions lead to regulatory improvements.
Regarding association operations, plans include strengthening joint investment and follow-on investment linkages among member companies, expanding educational programs and cooperation projects with government ministries, and enhancing the expertise and operational system of the full-time secretariat to ensure the continuity of association activities.
Hong (CEO) emphasized, "We will build a structure where ACs and VCs do not compete with each other but share roles by stage in the investment ecosystem and produce results jointly."
[MoneyToday startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']
in FUTURE
