The '2026 Cheonan C-STAR Awards,' designed to revitalize the local startup ecosystem, is being held for two days from the 29th to the 30th at Cheonan City Hall.

Hosted by Cheonan City and participated in by regional startup-related organizations including the Cheonan Science and Industry Promotion Agency, this event was organized to support the discovery of outstanding startups, attract investment, facilitate technology commercialization, and expand startup networks.

During the event, various programs will take place, including a national IR (Investor Relations) competition, investment and technology consultation sessions, meetup days with accelerators (ACs) and venture capitals (VCs), and keynote innovation lectures by prominent figures.

For the IR competition targeting promising startups nationwide, 10 startups that broke through a fierce competition rate of 34-to-1 in the preliminary rounds have advanced to the finals to compete in technological competitiveness and business viability.

A total of 140 million won in commercialization funds will be provided to the final four selected outstanding companies, and follow-up investments and growth will be supported through connection with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) and Deep-Tech TIPS programs.

A talk concert featuring Cheonan Mayor Jang Ki-soo will also be held during the event. Under the theme of "Cheonan City's Vision and Roles of Each Organization for a Startup Transformation," the event will listen to the voices of the startup field and explore ways for public-private cooperation and startup growth support.

Following this, former National Gwacheon Science Museum Director Lee Jeong-mo and Author Song Gil-young will take the stage as speakers to provide special lectures that offer insight into science, technology, and social changes, presenting directions for innovation to members of the startup ecosystem.

Using this event as a springboard, the city plans to strengthen its full-cycle growth support system—spanning from promising company discovery to investment, technology demonstration, and commercialization—and expand the private investment base of the local startup ecosystem.

Mayor Jang Ki-soo stated, "The C-STAR Awards is a platform where promising startups and investors meet to create new growth engines," adding, "We will support outstanding startup companies so they can grow in Cheonan and lead to follow-up investments, propelling us forward to become South Korea's representative startup city."

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