South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on Wednesday it has completed the selection of 10 company builders and three comprehensive technology commercialisation firms to support the full cycle of public research results from universities and government-funded research institutes.

The company-builder support programme aims to boost planned start-ups using promising public technologies. It selected 10 organisations with strong start-up and commercialisation capabilities from among technology holding companies of universities and government-funded research institutes, and private accelerators. The ministry will support 1 billion won per organisation each year (47.5 billion won in total over five years). The selected organisations will find strong public technologies, provide tailored early-stage start-up support and incubation, and attract early investment.

The comprehensive technology commercialisation firm programme aims to drive the creation and commercialisation of start-ups based on strong research outcomes by using not only their own technologies but also technologies from other universities and government-funded research institutes. It selected three organisations with the strongest start-up and commercialisation capabilities in each field from among technology holding companies of universities and government-funded research institutes, and private accelerators.

The ministry will support 3 billion won per organisation each year (142.5 billion won in total over five years). The selected organisations will integrate dispersed technology commercialisation functions and carry out full-cycle tasks from finding strong technologies to team building and facility support, start-up support and incubation, attracting investment, and related patent and legal services.

Eun-young Lee (이은영), director general for research outcomes innovation at the ministry, said it is important to provide support so the process that links strong public research results to the market does not break. She said the ministry will foster company builders and comprehensive firms as hubs for spreading public research results and will actively support start-ups and growth based on public technologies.