KT&G (President Baek Bok-in) opened ‘Sangsang Planet,’ which is a space dedicated to youth startups. Located in Seongsu-dong, a mecca for social ventures, ‘Sangsang Planet’ is a startup support center established for job creation of youth and for entrepreneurs to communicate and grow.

KT&G held the opening ceremony on the 15th with attendees including the President of KT&G Baek Bok-in, Democratic Party member Hong Ik-pyo, the Mayor of Seongdong-gu Chong Won-oh, and Startup officials. This event, in compliance with the quarantine guidelines and social distancing practices, proceeded with an introduction to KT&G’s youth entrepreneur support program and was followed by a tape cutting ceremony and a tour of the building.

‘Sangsang Planet’ is an abbreviation for ‘Let’s Play&Network’ and signifies a space for young entrepreneurs to meet, learn, and make an impact to change the world. This space will be utilized for the operation of the youth entrepreneurship program ‘Sangsang Startup Camp’ and will hold the social innovation startup forum ‘Sangsang Summit’ in the future to expand KT&G’s startup ecosystem. ‘Sangsang Planet’ has an area of 4000㎡ from the basement to the eighth floor. It is open to the public from the first to third floor and the space between the fourth and eighth floor is designated for the tenants.

On the first floor, the Connect Hall has a cafe  and an area to hold events for any visitors. The studios, editing rooms, and meeting rooms are laid out on the second floor. The ‘Scale Up Room’ on the third floor is set up for lectures and seminars. Anyone that’s interested in using the facilities can make reservations on Sangsang Planet’s website (www.sangsangplanet.com)

Starting from the fourth floor, a total of 128 designated seats and 21 independent offices are set up for the tenants. The focus zones and phone booths are placed nearby to increase efficiency.  Located on the eighth floor are the showers and refresh rooms to have a balanced work environment. KT&G plans to deliver the space optimized for startup growth at a reasonable price to minimize the economic burden of tenants.

KT&G started sponsoring the “Asia University Student Entrepreneurship Exchange Exhibition” in 2004 and has continued to support youth entrepreneurship by expanding its scope to create jobs for future generations using the “Sangsang Fund”. Since 2017, the company has been actively promoting social innovation entrepreneurs with a focus on 'Sangsang Startup Camp.’

‘Sangsang Startup Camp’ has currently completed 4 seasons, yielded a total revenue of KRW 6.5 billion, produced 30 teams of government funded businesses and employed 532 people. In 2019, the program received the Minister Award by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The President of KT&G Baek Bok-in commented, "I’ve built ‘Sangsang Planet’ to solve the problems of youth unemployment more systematically. I’d like to discover and develop young entrepreneurs that’d like to solve social issues, and I look forward to making ‘Sangsang Planet’ a space for them to communicate and grow."



(Details of Images) KT&G opens the youth startup platform ‘Sangsang Planet’ in Seongsu-dong to promote job creations. The image is on the opening ceremony of the ‘Sangsang Planet’ held on the 15th with attendees including the President of KT&G Baek Bok-in (fourth from the right), Democratic Party member Hong Ik-pyo (Jung–Seongdong A, third from the right), and Mayor of Seongdong-gu Chong Won-oh (fifth from the right).

(Details of Images) Exterior of the ‘KT&G Sangsang Planet’ building