JIN HYOUNG KIM, branch manager of IBK Changgong Gwangju, stated, “IBK Changgong Gwangju has nurtured 30 companies from the first through the third batch"

JIN HYOUNG KIM, Branch Manager of IBK Changgong Gwangju
JIN HYOUNG KIM
Branch Manager of the IBK Changgong Gwangju Center (July 2024–Present)
IBK Industrial Bank of Korea Startup Venture Support Department (January 2024–Present)
Entered IBK Industrial Bank of Korea (July 2013–Present)

“Changgong” has the dual meaning of startup factory and blue sky. IBK Changgong's mission is to help new companies soar. By utilizing the platform's financial support for investments and loans, mentoring and consulting services, global expansion and market development supports, and free office space, innovative startup ideas can take wing as successful business models.
There are currently six IBK Changgong Centers in Korea (Mapo, Guro, Busan, Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu). The organization also operates camps for prospective entrepreneurs at Seoul National University and UNIST, as well as a Silicon Valley center and a Europe desk to assist startups in expanding overseas.
The Gwangju Center opened in 2024 and is currently nurturing its third batch. On November 6th, I met Branch Manager JIN HYOUNG KIM at IBK Changgong Gwangju, located in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

Could you talk about your achievements so far?
“IBK Changgong Gwangju has nurtured 30 companies from the first through the third batch, facilitating over 20 billion won in investments and over 10 billion won in loans. In addition to enhancing various programs for investor relations, networking, open innovation, global expansion, and so on, we also create synergies by actively serving as a bridge for communication among portfolio companies. We try to continuously provide the types of support that all companies need while also tailoring our activities to the growth of each startup.”



What were the biggest business issues of 2025? I'm curious about the number of companies nurtured this year and their performance.
“We nurtured nine companies in the first half of 2025 (Gwangju Batch 2) and 11 companies in the second half (Gwangju Batch 3), for a total of 20 companies. IBK Changgong also provides continuous follow-up support for growth through the POST Changgong program, even after graduation. In 2025, IBK Changgong participated in CES 2025 and made efforts to support and advance companies in need through global accelerating programs such as the Japan Accelerating Program, the Germany Accelerating Program, the Luxembourg Accelerating Program, and the Silicon Valley Scale-up Program.”

How startups selected for IBK Changgong Gwangju?
“IBK Changgong recruits innovative startups twice a year at all centers simultaneously. We select around 20 companies for the Mapo, Guro, and Daejeon centers, 15 companies for the Busan center, and 10 companies for the Gwangju and Daegu centers. The companies are comprehensively evaluated and selected through a systematic process that includes document screening, on-site inspections, and PT evaluations designed to assess the innovation, marketability, and growth potential of the concept as well as the capabilities of the entrepreneur.”

What supports are provided to companies selected for IBK Changgong Gwangju?
“After selecting the companies, we provide information on the supports offered by Changgong through an admission ceremony and workshops. After that, we conduct company diagnoses to identify current business status and support needs, and then offer an intensive five-month acceleration program operated by dedicated mentors and managers. We provide a wide range of financial and non-financial supports, covering investments (direct investment reviews by IBK and AC, and linkage with VC investors), loans (in collaboration with KODIT, KIBO, and the SBC), common education tailored to startups, capacity-building education, expert mentoring and consulting in various fields (HR and labor, tax and accounting, business plans, IPs, etc.), networking, demo days, and free office space. We also link venture startups with specialized loan products from IBK Industrial Bank.”



What are the strengths of IBK Changgong Gwangju?
“Our mentors are experts from various industries and are very active. They participate in corporate diagnostics to identify which areas are lacking and what is needed, and assist in designing customized acceleration plans for each company. Through monthly mentoring to address deficiencies and further highlight strengths, we are continuously supplementing the program while providing customized acceleration for each company.”

What are some success stories among the IBK Changgong Gwangju startups?
“At the Gwangju Center alone, five companies received CES Innovation Awards, two companies were recognized as Pre-Unicorns, and two companies were selected as G-Unicorn enterprises by Gwangju City. In particular, Korea Deep Learning (Gwangju Batch 2nd) has achieved remarkable results, such as connecting nurturing by IBK Changgong to investments from IBK Industrial Bank and winning the Edison Award.”



Please introduce IBK Changgong Gwangju's flagship startup program.
“We help companies improve IR decks through IR consulting. We help companies with investor relations by conducting training on structuring IR decks. We also provide one-on-one IR story consulting to ensure that each company conveys key information effectively, and we support the design and production of IR decks. We also provide delivery consulting if needed, which has high corporate satisfaction.”

How are you supporting companies in attracting investment?
“We provide customized investment attraction opportunities for companies every month through various types of IR and investment consultations. In particular, IBK Financial Group companies such as IBK Industrial Bank and IBK Venture Investment are actively conducting investment reviews, while the operators managing individual centers are conducting direct investment reviews. In line with the idea of investor relations, we are increasing the actual investment matching rate by inviting appropriate investors for each stage, including investors in funds from IBK Industrial Bank, TIPS operators, investors in regional funds, and investors in industry-specific funds.”



What are your goals for 2026?
“We plan to enhance the global accelerating programs we operated in 2025 to support companies in their full-scale entry into overseas markets. We hope to achieve tangible collaboration outcomes with startups by expanding the operation of the open innovation program utilizing our network of large and medium-sized enterprises. We aim to provide opportunities for market expansion to various companies and also help them diversify their promotional activities. We are also considering expanding into the field of artificial intelligence.”

reporter jinho lee
jinho2323@hankyung.com