Trade Center Becomes Test Bed for Startups 

The Korea International Trade Association (Chairman, Kim Young-ju) held 1:1 Meet-up to select the companies to participate in Startup Test Bed on September 10^th at COEX in Samseong-dong.

'COEX Startup Test Bed' provides Korean startups with the opportunity to try out various ideas and technologies to innovate services in the Trade Center, including shopping malls, exhibition halls, parking lots, city airport terminals, and aquariums.

198 startups, including underwater drones to indoor autonomous robots, applied for the Test Bed and 47 companies selected through the document screening and expert review attended the meeting. Socar, the largest car sharing platform in Korea, and Kmong, the largest open market platform for freelancers participated in the meeting.

An official from Twinny, a startup that develops indoor autonomous robots, said “It is a good opportunity for us to commercialize the AI technology by applying it to the actual shopping mall and spread our technology and products widely.”

The startups finally selected through business meetings will embark on detailed discussions for business with the partners in the Trade Center such as COEX, Seoul Ocean Aquarium, Korea City Airport, and WTC Seoul. The Korea International Trade Association expects to introduce service innovations through the Test Bed in this year.

Lee Dong-ki, Director of Innovative Growth Center at the Korea International Trade Association, said, “We will make the area around the Trade Center in Samseong-dong, Korea's representative global business hub, as the place for startups’ activities.” He stressed, “We will continue to present a new paradigm for vitalizing the startup ecosystem by inviting overseas startups to COEX Test Bed next year and promoting mutual exchanges with overseas Test Beds.”