Seoul enters into the mature stage of economy in which innovation and entrepreneurship become more important as key players of regional competitiveness and productivity. Technology-based start-up is defined as the formation of new firm creating and profiting from innovative technology and knowledge theoretically, and as entrepreneurship in technology-driven industries operationally. Technology-based start-up ecosystem means an organic network of interactions of firms, institutions, and government agencies that creates, supports and raises technology-based start-ups.
Korean start-up environment is dominated by necessity entrepreneurship. Although Seoul has maintained and even expanded its leading technology-based start-up ecosystem, its national share and the number of new start-ups has lessened with an increasing incorporation trend throughout the last decade of recession. Recently start-ups in technology-driven industries, which hires more workers than necessity start-ups in average, lead the recovering trend of entrepreneurship in Seoul.
Policy demand survey of pre-start-ups and earlier technology-based start-ups reveals that they evaluate their start-up opportunities and capabilities low and have high fears about start-up itself. Successful start-up cases and expectations motivate pre-start-ups most. Financial support has the top priority in policy demands since investments from angels and venture capitalists are very limited, but human networking, marketing capabilities and strategies and innovative technology - not the financial support itself - are considered key ingredients of success. Industrial sectors such as IT fusion and contents are regarded as promising ones to be started up in.
Sustainable growth of technology-based start-up ecosystem should suffice three conditions of productivity, robustness, and niche creation, and the latter two, specially niche creation as innovativeness, should be prioritized in resource allocation. Three policy directions that reflect the corollary of those principles as well as policy demands are suggested. To enhance productivity, establishing a step-by-step support system by systemizing given technology-based start-up policies is desirable. Robustness can be effectively obtained by strengthening communication and education programs based on technology start-up centers. Finally, niche creation can be facilitated with more matching opportunities between innovative and market capabilities through various linkages among diverse players in a technology-based start-up ecosystem.