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South Korea to invest $400M into startups making wearables, drones, and self-driving cars

Under the helm of President Park Geun-hye, the South Korean government has been heavily involved in the local startup scene, and committed KRW 2.17 trillion (US$1.97 billion) last year and KRW 2.25 trillion (US$2.04 billion) in 2013 to startups in their infancy. Today, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that another US$400 million will be invested into developing “new and indigenous products and technologies that will help boost the country’s economy and exports,” Yonhap News Agency reports. Of that sum, KRW 194 billion (US$176 million) is set aside for 13 new industrial growth engines, such as smart wearable devices, self-driving vehicles, and drones.

The chief objective of this is to diversify the country’s outbound shipments, which – despite reaching a new annual high last year – is dominated by five key industries, including semiconductors and petroleum. 2014 saw a growing number of South Korean startups achieving a measure of success, whether it be going public or receiving big investments. It also saw Daum Kakao, the parent company of the popular KakaoTalk app, looking to hedge its bets with an investment firm that has US$90 million in the bank. The upward trend seems likely to continue into the new year, with the government also setting aside a US$181 million budget for early-stage startups in general.