KT&G held a business agreement signing ceremony with Impact Square on March 5 at KT&G Sangsang Planet in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, to enhance its youth startup support initiatives and manage the Sangsang Planet and Sangsang Startup Camp programs.

To nurture early-stage entrepreneurs in the social venture sector and help address youth employment challenges, KT&G is partnering with Impact Square, a startup accelerator that discovers and supports promising startups. Impact Square has built an extensive network within the startup ecosystem by providing strategic consulting, investment attraction, and other support services.

Through this agreement, Impact Square will take over the operation of KT&G Sangsang Planet, a youth startup support hub established in Seoul’s Seongsu-dong in 2020. The company plans to strengthen both tangible and intangible support for resident startups, helping them scale their businesses.

In addition, Impact Square will oversee the Sangsang Startup Camp, a youth entrepreneurship program that encourages young entrepreneurs to address social issues through business solutions. The company will provide business consulting and investment attraction services to help participating startups grow and create synergies.

Shim Young-ah, Head of KT&G ESG Management, said, “We highly value the expertise that Impact Square has accumulated as a first-generation company in Seongsu-dong’s Social Venture Valley, which led to this business agreement. Through this partnership, we will do our best to create more opportunities for young entrepreneurs to thrive.”

Since 2017, the KT&G Sangsang Startup Camp has successfully completed eight cohorts, producing 162 startup teams. As of the program’s most recent cycle, participating startups have collectively achieved KRW 28.83 billion in revenue and KRW 12.36 billion in investment attraction. KT&G plans to begin recruiting for the 9th cohort of the Sangsang Startup Camp by the end of March 2025.