Scale-up firms play a pivotal role in injecting new vitality into the economy and enhancing national competitiveness. Given the stagnant growth potential, it is increasingly important to create an ecosystem optimized for scale-up firms to grow and to establish an environment where high-growth firms can continuously emerge. However, in reality, many firms in Korea face various barriers during the scale-up process, including difficulties in securing skilled talent, utilizing digital tools, and expanding into global markets.

In response, this study examines whether Korea’s business ecosystem provides an environment where innovative and competitive firms can continuously grow beyond the domestic market into the global market. And by focusing on areas where such an environment is insufficiently provided, it presents policy directions and implementation strategies for transitioning to a more desirable ecosystem.

Consisting of four main chapters, the study emphasizes the following policy suggestions. First, as the decline in the proportion of high-growth firms weakens economic dynamism and job creation, the government must shift toward scale-up policies and establish an integrated management system to support these firms. Second, to enhance the global competitiveness of startups, it is essential to introduce a specialized visa focusing on innovation and growth potential, streamline permanent residency pathways, and expand tax benefits. Third, to encourage firms to pursue sustained growth in export markets, it is necessary to design export promotion programs that are performance-based and tied to their success in export markets. Fourth, revitalizing industry-academia-research collaboration requires a demand-driven policy approach, increased participation from large and mid-sized firms, patent box incentives, and strengthened industry linkages with public research institutes.

ABSTRACT
Foreword
Summary (KOR)

Chapter 1. Introduction
References

Chapter 2. Policy Directions for Supporting Scale-up Firms’ Growth (by Minho Kim)
　Section 1. Introduction
　Section 2. Understanding Scale-up Firms
　Section 3. Economic Role of Scale-up Firms and the Decline in Growth Dynamics
　Section 4. Understanding the Drivers of Scaling Up
　Section 5. Current Policies Supporting Scale-up Firms and International Cases
　Section 6. Conclusion and Policy Recommendations for Improving Scale-up Policies
　References
　Appendix

Chapter 3. Regulatory Reform for Fostering Startups: Focusing on Enhancing Global Accessibility (by Gong Lee)
　Section 1. Introduction
　Section 2. Literature Review
　Section 3. Evaluation of Korea’s Startup Ecosystem
　Section 4. Legal Framework for Startups in Korea
　Section 5. International Cases of Startup Regulation
　Section 6. Directions for Regulatory Reform
　Section 7. Conclusion and Future Tasks
　References
　Appendix

Chapter 4. Scale-up Strategies for Innovative Firms through Exports (by Sunghoon Chung)
　Section 1. Introduction
　Section 2. Firm Dynamics in Export Markets
　Section 3. Theoretical Review of Export Dynamics and Related Policies
　Section 4. Empirical Analysis of Export Support Programs
　Section 5. Conclusion and Policy Implications
　References
　Appendix

Chapter 5. Current Status and Challenges of Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration for Scale-up Firms (by Kiwan Kim)
　Section 1. Introduction
　Section 2. Review of the Current Status of Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration
　Section 3. Analysis of the Causes Behind Weak Collaboration
　Section 4. Conclusion and Policy Implications
　References
　Appendix

Chapter 6. Conclusion