[Digital Today reporter Hyun-woo Choo] Startup accelerator InnoBridge Partners will hold the "Art of Independence - Spinout Conference 2026" with DevMentor on May 13 at the Korea Advertising Culture Center in Jamsil.

Five founders with backgrounds at GS Retail, LG Uplus, Lotte Chilsung, Hyundai Motor and Kakao (Daum) will speak at the event. Unlike existing lectures focused on success stories, the conference will lay out in practical terms how organisational expertise, systems and networks were turned into business tools.

The conference will have 5 sessions. Jun-ryeol Seo (서준렬), CEO of Mister Daddy, who worked for 12 years at GS Retail as an online produce MD, will open with his challenge of starting a business in a region. Seung-rae Jang (장승래), CEO of Deever and a first-batch participant in LG Uplus' in-house venture programme, will share his process of launching a stealth startup and pivoting a business model (BMF). Chung-hee Kim (김충희), CEO of Worker's High and former head of strategic planning new-business team at Lotte Chilsung Beverage, Jin Choi (최진), CEO of Mobin who shifted from a senior researcher at Hyundai Motor to a robotics entrepreneur, and Soo-hong Park (박수홍), CEO of Cubiz Korea and a former head of Kakao's advertising business strategy office, will present on discovering niche markets, commercialising technology and AI-based digital transformation (DX) strategies, respectively.

The conference is open not only to prospective founders but also to HR staff and in-house venture and new-business teams.

Jung-eun Kang (강정은), CEO of InnoBridge Partners, said most office workers interested in starting a business put it off by saying, "someday." She said she hopes hearing real experiences from founders who came from familiar companies will help people realistically check vague dreams and find a chance to push ahead.