SK Innovation E&S群山创业扶持项目累计销售180亿韩元

The old downtown of Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, once drained of jobs and population after its main manufacturing industries pulled out, is being transformed into a hub for youth entrepreneurship. The change is the result of a large company with business experience and distribution networks providing long-term support in space, education, product development, and market access, instead of the conventional approach in which the government or local authorities provide one-time project funding. Startups that put down roots in the region and continue to grow are now emerging.
According to industry sources on the 4th, 21 of the 26 Gunsan-area startup teams nurtured by SK Innovation E&S (096770), formerly SK E&S, through its "Localize Gunsan" project since 2019 are still in business. Of these, 10 have settled in Gunsan. The cumulative sales of the 26 teams reach 18 billion won.
SK Innovation E&S carried out this urban regeneration project in the Yeonghwa-dong area of Gunsan from 2019 to 2021. In Gunsan, which had been suffering an employment and industrial crisis due to manufacturing decline, the company attracted young entrepreneurs and supported them in building businesses that drew on the region's history, culture, and agricultural and fishery products. The company describes it as the first regional urban regeneration project in Korea led by a private-sector conglomerate.
Choi Eun-jung, head of SK Innovation E&S's Sustainability Management Team 3, who led the project, said, "The key task was to research Gunsan's unique resources, history, and culture together with local experts and residents, and to use them to create a symbolic local brand." She added, "We focused on developing products and services that did not overlap with the existing commercial district, in order to create new demand in the region."
Rather than expanding physical infrastructure such as buildings and roads, SK Innovation E&S placed weight on growing the entrepreneur community and local content. In Yeonghwa-dong, Gunsan, it built "Localize Town," a social venture incubating space, providing tenant companies with offices, education spaces, a community lounge, and lodging for entrepreneurs from outside the area. The startup education was conducted together with "Underdogs," a company specializing in nurturing social ventures.
The startup teams collaborated with local residents, small business owners, and farmers and fishermen to release more than 200 products and services each year during the project period. "Redive," which developed honey sticks, generated more than 100 million won in sales from a single product, and the income of the partner beekeeping farms also grew 25% from the previous year. The Gunsan character "Meokbang-i and Friends" opened its copyright to local businesses free of charge, and 30 companies launched 180 products, generating 127 million won in sales.
Group resources were also mobilized. Happynarae and SK Stoa participated, with employees serving as mentors for product planning and strategy development, and running tasting and experience panels to verify the products' marketability. External sales channels such as department stores and home shopping were also connected, helping products developed in Gunsan reach the national market.
Also notable was the application of the "pacer model," which accompanies entrepreneurs over the long term in line with their growth stages. Like a marathon pacemaker, it runs alongside the startup teams to help them grow. In the first year, brand development on the theme of Gunsan was pursued; in the second year, collaboration with local merchants; and in the third year, joint projects with entrepreneurs from other regions.
Choi said, "Under the principle of supporting but not interfering, we provided project opportunities, education, and mentoring so that the startup teams could build their own self-sufficiency." She explained, "SK was not just a sponsor but played a role in verifying the marketability of products together with them and connecting collaboration both inside and outside the region."
Support has continued even after the official nurturing program ended. Since 2022, SK Innovation E&S has held the "Localize Gunsan Festival" every year, introducing participating companies' products and services and creating a place where local residents, tourists, and local entrepreneurs from across the country can meet. It is a measure aimed at compensating for the limitations of existing regional startup programs, in which companies move to the Seoul metropolitan area or shut down when support is cut off.
The model that began in Gunsan is expanding to Busan and abroad. Since 2024, SK Innovation E&S has operated "I'm in Busan" with the Busan Metropolitan Government and others, supporting 35 small and venture companies that solve regional problems in the energy and environment fields. In Indonesia, it is also identifying and nurturing social ventures to solve local social problems.
Choi stressed, "For young people with affection and passion for the region to stay and grow their businesses, long-term support is needed rather than short-term results." She emphasized, "We must build an ecosystem where not only successes but also experiences of failure are accumulated as assets, so that people can take on new challenges again."