Regional Startups Give Back to Hometowns with Jobs, Investment

Startups founded outside the Seoul metropolitan area are actively hiring local talent and revitalizing regional economies. Companies that grew with support from local communities are now giving back as they expand.

According to the venture industry on the 11th, Modusign, an electronic signature platform developer, has continued hiring talent from Busan every year since its founding in 2015. Maintaining Busan talent recruitment for over a decade reflects the commitment of Modusign CEO Lee Young-jun. Lee, a Pusan National University alumnus, founded a software development club during his undergraduate years, which eventually led to the creation of Modusign. Believing the company would not exist without the club activities and the university's startup support, he continues hiring Busan natives as a way of giving back.

Lee also hosts special lectures two to three times annually for Pusan National University students, inviting founders from other venture companies. "I want to create a virtuous cycle where Busan talent who grew with Modusign move on to other companies and nurture more regional talent," Lee said.

Autonomous A2Z, an autonomous driving software company, maintains ties with Gyeongsan in North Gyeongsang Province. Since last year, the company has partnered with Kyungil University in Gyeongsan on an early employment contract program, hiring students directly. Selected students enjoy campus life in their first year, then work as full-time employees at Autonomous A2Z during their second and third years while earning engineering degrees. To date, 28 Kyungil University graduates have joined the company.

Autonomous A2Z's attachment to Kyungil University stems from the company's origins on its campus. CEO Han Ji-hyung joined as a professor in 2018 and founded the company that same year as a faculty startup. Kyungil University President Jung Hyun-tae personally ensured office space and student workforce support, providing extensive backing in the company's early days. Autonomous A2Z is now repaying that assistance to the Gyeongsan community and university.

Some companies create local jobs to promote economic activity among elderly residents. Girin Company, founded in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province in 2021, manufactures and distributes gamtae seaweed. Each winter, it contracts with approximately 80 elderly members of the Seosan fishing cooperative to purchase gamtae. Local residents harvest the seaweed, and the company buys it from them. While hiring foreign workers at headquarters could secure gamtae at lower cost, Girin Company has maintained purchases from the fishing cooperative since its founding. CEO Song Joo-hyun, a native of a Seosan fishing village, made this decision to support local fishing households whose income declines in winter.

Experts hope to see more such symbiotic examples of regional venture creation and corporate community reinvestment. Kang Jong-su, CEO of Calls Dynamics and former regional division chair of the Korea Startup Forum, said, "Famous global companies like Nike, McDonald's, and Starbucks also started as small businesses in local areas and now significantly impact their hometowns' tourism, employment, and economic activity." He added, "Growing alongside local communities as a company expands is an essential business practice."