SparkLabs Core to South Korea's Final National Innovation Center Opened in Incheon

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA--(Marketwired - July 29, 2015) - SparkLabs (www.sparklabs.co.kr), Asia's leading startup accelerator, was recently recognized by South Korea's President Park during the launch ceremony of the 17^th innovation center in the country. This completed President Park's plan for a national network of innovation centers and part of her greater "creative economy" vision for South Korea.

Each of the 17 innovation centers have partnered with a major South Korean conglomerate ("chaebol"). Other centers that have already launched since last September 2014 have already made an impact with startups and SMBs throughout Korea. For example, the centers that have partnered with Samsung and LG have shared over 90,000 patents with startups and small and mid-sized businesses.

Vice Minister Suk Joon Lee at the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning commented, "The key difference between this and other centers is that SparkLabs will be directly operating the program at this center. They are operating a global accelerator program that has many world class mentors from around the globe. SparkLabs already operates 2 classes a year and hosts a large demo day where selected startups are able to network and meet with investors from Silicon Valley and other parts of the world. If the program at Incheon is successful, the government will encourage and support other innovation centers to work with accelerators in the private sector like SparkLabs."

"We are excited to be working with the Korean central government's and the City of Incheon's initiative to foster creative economy. This strengthens our existing partnership with Songdo, the smart city initiative in Incheon, and creates more opportunities with the startups selected for our program, especially those related to Internet of Things and startups in other fields," stated HanJoo Lee, Co-founder and General Partner of SparkLabs.

About SparkLabs
SparkLabs is a startup accelerator founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs in South Korea. The focus will be on startup companies from the Internet, online gaming, mobile, ecommerce, digital media, and healthcare sectors. The mentorship-driven program will be three months in length and provides funding, office space, a structure program and access to a top-tier network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors and executives. For more information, please visit www.sparklabs.co.kr

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