The Asan Nanum Foundation, a charity set up by Hyundai Heavy Industries and its affiliates, said it launched on Tuesday a venture capital fund to help young entrepreneurs.
Hyundai Heavy and its affiliates together will channel an additional 100 billion won ($88.8 million) into the fund, the shipbuilder said. Three companies ― KCC, Korea Flange and Hyundai Department ― have joined the initiative.
The fund will be operated in consultation with industry experts and angel investors, the company added, though it has yet to decide exactly how.
Chung Mong-joon, a lawmaker in the ruling Saenuri Party and Hyundai Heavy’s largest shareholder, in October joined forces with heads of the shipyard’s affiliates to found the entrepreneurship-focused charity by donating 500 billion won. Asan is the pen name of deceased Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung.
“I believe what our youngsters want is soil on which they can freely make their own choices and decisions and exert their potential and opportunities as much as they can,” Chung said at a forum last week.
As part of its activities, Asan Nanum created a youth volunteer corps, opened internship programs and set up an institution at Soongsil University in Seoul to provide lectures, training and consultation for students seeking to start their own business.
It aims to build an extra 15 units of such facilities nationwide later on and crank up angel investment in collaboration with state agencies, Hyundai officials said.
By Shin Hyon-hee (
heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
