Hyundai family fostering young entrepreneurs

The Asan Nanum Foundation run by the Hyundai family, one of Korea’s leading conglomerates, has established the first private-funded business incubator to support young entrepreneurs who dream of following in the footsteps of late Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung.

The Chung Ju Yung Campus of Entrepreneurship marks the charity foundation’s first project since it was officially established in October.

The campus will run educational programs for young people who want to become CEOs. One of the courses will include Chung’s “entrepreneurship theory,” while the support center will also provide assistance with marketing, accounting and sales, it said.

The curriculum will be serviced at Soongsil University, which has been teaching its students about the entrepreneurial spirit and management strategy of Chung.

The foundation said it has three major tasks: to set up 16 campuses in major cities, to support increasing “angel investments” of capital for business start-ups and to promote creative entrepreneurship.

Under the plan, the 16 regional campuses will be created as specialized units for IT, biotech and agricultural ventures, according to where they are located.

The foundation will also host public camps, conferences and contests where young, enthusiastic business leaders of the future can learn about and experience how to start a business, the charity body said.

“Chung Ju-yung demonstrated creative thinking and a pioneering spirit,” said Chung Jin-hong, chairman of the charity. “We will fully support young people who dream of becoming the second Chung Ju-yung, and create another business legend like that of Hyundai Group.”

The Asan Nanum Foundation was established to mark the 10th anniversary of Chung’s passage last month. The Chung family donated a total of 500 billion won ($435 million) to the body. Asan is Chung’s former pen name.

The foundation said yesterday it held a ceremony to celebrate the launch of the Chung Ju Yung Campus at Soongsil University in southern Seoul.

About 500 officials attended the ceremony, including Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Chae-pil, administrator of the Small and Medium Business Administration Kim Dong-sun, administrator of the Korea Venture Business Administration Hwang Chul-joo and Grand National Party lawmaker Chung Mong-joon, the single biggest shareholder of Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The new campus was created to support budding business leaders by giving them a solid educational grounding in Chung’s spirit of entrepreneurship.

By Song Su-hyun [ssh@joongang.co.kr]