Early-Stage Startup Package

Early-Stage Startup Package

Supports young Korean startups with commercialization funding and mentorship during early commercialization and customer validation.

The Early-Stage Startup Package (초기창업패키지) is an annual KISED program providing commercialization grants to registered South Korean startups up to three years old. The 2025 cycle mobilized a total budget of KRW 112.4 billion — the largest of the four KISED domestic startup packages by budget — to support approximately 1,100 companies, making it also the highest-volume program by recipient count. Awards reach up to KRW 100 million per company and cover prototype development, IP protection, marketing materials, certifications, accounting services, and technical data acquisition.

Eligibility requires that the applicant be a representative of a startup registered in South Korea with no more than three years of operating history. The application process follows a four-step model: public notice, application submission, evaluation and selection, and execution of commercialization support. Applicants must submit a business plan, a company presentation, and a business registration certificate through the K-Startup platform. In addition to the financial grant, recipients receive MVP market validation support including consumer feedback analysis and market research, as well as growth support services.

The Early-Stage Startup Package occupies the second rung of KISED's domestic funding ladder, positioned after the Pre-Startup Package for pre-entrepreneurs and before the Scale-Up Package for three-to-seven-year-old companies. The 2025 cycle is closed. Applicants should monitor the public notice system (www.k-startup.go.kr) for the opening of the 2026 annual cycle. The KISED Early-Stage Startup Division can be contacted at 044-410-1840 or 1831–1839 for application guidance.