Asan Nanum Foundation awards promising young entrepreneurs

The Asan Nanum Foundation announced Tuesday that it has selected the winners of its first annual entrepreneurship competition that commemorates Chung Ju-yung, the late founder of Hyundai Group.

“Through the competition we became certain that what young people truly desire is not government-granted financial assistance, but the free ground to make decisions and exert their own potential,” said Rep. Chung Mong-joon, who is one of the sons of Hyundai Group’s founder and set up the charity organization.

Titled “Chung Ju-yung Entrepreneurship Competition for Youths,” the nationwide entrepreneurship competition, which is funded by Hyundai Heavy Industries and affiliates, crowned 11 ambitious young people behind business ventures.

Team Exsen won the greatest accolade and 50 million won ($44,300) in prize money with its nitrogen oxide sensor for clean diesel vehicles, which applies the group’s own patent formula to take real-time measurements of nitrogen oxide.

Two teams, I & Combine and TK Korea, won the second-place Outstanding Award and prize money with a social platform for mathematics study groups and an environment-friendly recycling mechanism for disposed electric cords, respectively. Three other teams, My Real Trip, Add To Paper and By Mom, were conferred third-place Excellent Awards, and five teams won the Asan Frontier Award.

The 11 winning groups will be prioritized when selecting beneficiaries for the “Chung Ju-yung Angel Investment Fund,” worth over 100 billion won. Chung Ju-yung Angel Investment Fund offers consulting sessions with investment experts to its beneficiaries and plans to support overseas entrepreneurship.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)