The number of domestic venture investment companies that manage venture funds continues to increase ..

The number of domestic venture investment companies that manage venture funds continues to increase from 246 in 2023 and 249 last year to 253 this year. The government recently invested a total of 585 billion won in the parent fund through the second supplementary budget, expanding the annual venture fund investment budget to 900 billion won in 2025. By utilizing this, the government will strengthen the overall support base for venture ecosystems by increasing investment in future technologies such as AI and Deep Tech.

This expansion of venture investment requires more expertise from management companies (GP) that manage venture funds, management personnel, and limited partners (LP) that are in charge of investment. In response, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Venture Capital Association opened “Venture Investment Analysts” to the public from this year, which only professional venture fund managers could take. The test will be conducted twice in the first and second half of the year, and applications for the first half of the year have already been completed early.

In addition to professional training on venture fund management personnel, the need to strengthen the understanding and expertise of investors such as local governments and public institutions that invest for policy purposes, in addition to specialized institutions such as pension funds and mutual aid associations with professional personnel, is emerging as an important task. Above all, it is pointed out that the short period of work is hindering professionalism, and due to lack of understanding of venture funds due to lack of education, it is essential to secure expertise and capabilities for investors in the public sector to maximize venture fund performance through discovery and fostering of promising companies and step-by-step investment and link them to revitalizing the local and national economies.

In fact, to solve this problem, some metropolitan local governments, including Jeollabuk-do and Chungcheongnam-do, have introduced a “venture specialist” system that is excluded from the rotational positions of public officials, deploying dedicated personnel with a high understanding of venture investment and start-up ecosystems, and strengthening their collaboration capabilities with venture fund managers. This system is the basis for simultaneously achieving policy goals and market profitability by increasing the precision of selecting promising investment targets in the region and expanding investment attraction performance step by step through collaboration.

Public institutions are no exception. The Korea Water Resources Corporation, one of the major investors in the public sector, has been steadily implementing venture fund investment and water company development programs since 2018, including the creation of a regional innovation venture fund to foster the water industry. It is also strengthening its expertise in the investment review and follow-up management process, such as acquiring new “venture investment analyst” qualifications for venture fund investment managers, and internally, a job offering to practitioners is also under consideration.

Lee Eun-jin, who works as the head of the Korea Water Resources Corporation’s start-up innovation department, obtained a venture investment analyst license this year. “In fact, I challenged this certificate immediately after learning that it was opened to the public for the first time this year,” Lee said, explaining that while carrying out the investment business, investors also felt that they needed to understand and expertise in venture investment. “While acting as an LP for a public company, I always wanted to understand the ‘essence of investment’ more deeply, and I learned a lot in the process of acquiring qualifications because it is essential knowledge to conceive a strategic investment collaboration model, not just investment,” he said.

“Unlike simple asset management or financial analysis qualifications, venture investment analysts demanded a view of the company’s technology, marketability, and team capabilities from various angles, so the learning process was fun,” Lee said. In addition, this provided a clearer understanding of the core structure of startup evaluation, and it was a good opportunity to strategically connect and think about how to apply and innovate in the climate technology and water industries.

In line with the government’s expansion of venture funds, strengthening the expertise of venture fund personnel in charge of local governments and public institutions is becoming a key factor in determining the success or failure of policy funds beyond simple tasks. As a result, it is gaining momentum in the argument that the systematic operation of education and qualification systems for personnel in charge of venture funds in the public sector and the deployment of professional personnel should be further expanded.

In September, the Venture Capital Association plans to implement “venture investment education” for practitioners from the 3rd to enhance the professional capabilities of policy investment institutions. The detailed program is expected to be an opportunity to cultivate practical investment decision-making skills beyond simple administrative support such as domestic and foreign venture fund investment and creation trends, recovery strategies, risk factors, and response strategies.

Investment in venture funds by public institutions should be nurtured by professionals (venture experts) who have cultivated expertise based on understanding the region and individual industries, which is expected to increase the investment efficiency of venture funds in the future and lead to economic revitalization by discharging technology innovation and high-growth companies in the long run.

Reporter Lee Sang-gyu