Total Prize Pool of 104 Million KRW
Final Competition Set for November 26

In the preliminary round of the 3rd Shin Kyuk-ho Lotte Young Entrepreneur Awards (hereinafter "Lotte Entrepreneurship Competition")—organized to discover the next generation of pioneering entrepreneurs—a total of 56 teams have advanced to the semi-finals: 29 teams in Category 1 (Food, Retail, Chemicals, Construction, Culture, Tourism, Services, Finance, Social Ventures, and Others) and 27 teams in Category 2 (Deep Tech & National Strategic Technologies including AI, Semiconductors, BioHealth, and Science-based Tech).

Launched in 2024 and now in its third year, the Lotte Entrepreneurship Competition honors the legacy of the late Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, inheriting his spirit of "Gieop Boguk" (serving the nation through enterprise) and his pioneering entrepreneurial vision.

This year's competition saw a total of 693 startups apply—a stark 82% increase compared to last year's 380 applicants—resulting in a competitive semi-final ratio of approximately 12 to 1. A panel of 18 experts, including venture capitalists and professors, evaluated candidates based on creativity, feasibility, and entrepreneurial spirit to determine the advancing teams.

Category 1 Semi-Finalists (In Korean Alphabetical Order): Gorocket Company, Green Continue, Girin Corporation, Dongui Mogam, Deep Fusion (Pre-startup), LittleFin, Rittoon, Linko, Mobilion Lab, Valley AI, Brandino, SeomLution, Synapse, AramGens (Pre-startup), Abductive Convenience (Apdojeok Pyeonriham), Eco Silver (Pre-startup), Onto, Webo, Innovas, Jiseong Company, Chaeura, Custodyfy, Touchmind, Pascal, Firebuster, Plantner, Korea Education Partners, KP Digital, and OCEAN FUTURE.

While awards will be presented across two tracks and two categories, the grand prizes will be awarded to only one team per category. The total prize pool stands at 104 million KRW, with Grand Prize winners receiving 14 million KRW each. First Prize winners will receive 9 million KRW each, Second Prize winners 6 million KRW each, and Honorable Mentions 3 million KRW each. Additionally, the Innopolis Foundation and the Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation will present special cash awards of 2 million KRW each.

Beyond the monetary prizes, all winning teams will be granted the opportunity to pitch their business models to investment institutions. Furthermore, the Innopolis Foundation plans to offer all winners structured follow-up programs—including business model enhancement and startup support—through its 'Innopolis Campus Support Program'.

[Unicorn Factory, Startup Media Platform by MoneyToday]

Detailed Article Content: https://www.mt.co.kr/future/2026/10/06/2026100614160030728

Reporter: Kim Jin-hyun jinkim@mt.co.kr