The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Minister HAN Seongsook) announced that it will hold the Startup Networking Conference ‘JOIN 2025,’ a side event of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting 2025(SMEMM)*, at the Booyoung Hotel & Resort in Jeju on Monday, September 1, 2025.

* As one of the sectoral ministerial meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the APEC SMEMM has been held annually since 1994 to discuss issues concerning SMEs, startups, and micro enterprises within the APEC region.

Co-hosted by the Jeju Center for Creative Economy & Innovation and the CCE Council of Korea, ‘JOIN 2025’ marks the third annual startup conference in the Jeju region. “JOIN” stands for the “JOurney of INnovation” while also representing the initials of the four core keywords of the conference.
 

Category	Core Values
J: Journey	Sharing values in the process of growth and development from the startup idea stage
O: Opportunity	Providing opportunities to discover and enter diverse markets for growth
I: Innovation	Creating a venue for sharing core values of startups and fostering collaboration
N: Networking	Strengthening global networking that connects local communities and overseas markets

 
JOIN 2025 has three main characteristics.

First, it has strengthened connections and exchanges within the domestic and international startup ecosystem. While JOIN events up to 2024 mainly focused on exchange and cooperation between Jeju and other regions in Korea, the scope has expanded in 2025 to include opportunities for collaboration with APEC member economies such as Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia, in conjunction with the Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting. Through this, local startups will also be provided with networking opportunities to meet with a wide range of stakeholders, including global investment firms and support organizations.

Second, six private associations and organizations specializing in startup development and investment* will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during the event and jointly explore measures to revitalize regional entrepreneurship. These six groups share the recognition that the startup and venture ecosystem must move beyond its concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, and they plan to identify and propose tasks together to promote regional entrepreneurship.

* Business agreement associations and organizations for revitalizing local startups: Korea Venture Business Association, Korea Business Angels Association, Korea Startup Accelerators and Early Stage Investors Association, Korea Venture Capital Association, Korea Startup Forum, The CCE Council of Korea

Third, through joint investor relations (IR) and one-on-one meetings with investors, the event will provide regional startups with opportunities to attract investment. The IR will feature 16 promising regional startups in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and robotics, discovered by Center for Creative Economy & Innovation nationwide, along with participation from more than 30 investment firms.

In addition, the event will also feature a specialized session on AI. KIM Sung hun, CEO of Upstage — recently selected as part of the elite team to develop Korea’s national AI and who has secured an investment of over KRW 60 billion — will deliver a special lecture on the theme of “AI Trends and Global Expansion Strategies.”

Meanwhile, the Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting, to be held in Jeju from September 1 to 5, has been organized under the theme “MSMEs as Engines of Sustainable and Inclusive Growth” to discuss related priority agendas.

In particular, the Startup Networking Conference ‘JOIN 2025,’ held on the first day of the Ministerial Meeting week, is designed with the objective of “strengthening cooperation through networking among domestic and international innovation and startup stakeholders” (Key Agenda 3, Inclusive Growth through Enhanced Connectivity). The sessions will focus on expanding interconnections for inclusive growth of the startup ecosystem, reinforcing open innovation and strengthening public-private partnerships, thereby enhancing alignment with the key agendas of the Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting.

<「APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting」 Theme and Key Agenda>

Theme		MSMEs as Engines of Sustainable and Inclusive Growth
Key Agenda		1. Innovative Growth through Emerging Technologies 2. Sustainable Growth through Smart Policies 3. Inclusive Growth through Enhanced Connectivity

 
Minister HAN Seongsook stated, “The ‘JOIN 2025’ event is meaningful in that it has created an opportunity for regional startups to meet not only domestic investors, large corporations, and support organizations, but also key overseas partners.” She added, “The government will continue to expand capital, infrastructure, and networking environments to ensure that promising regional startups are provided with ample opportunities.”

Details regarding ‘JOIN 2025’ can be found on the event website (JOINJEJU.kr), while information on the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting and related events is available on the official website (ASMEMM2025.kr).