{
  "id": 17067834,
  "title": "Startup Investment Calculated to Top 10 Trillion Won, but Turned out an Illusion",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/startup-investment-calculated-to-top-10-trillion-won-but-turned-out",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-29T13:52:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BusinessKorea",
    "slug": "businesskorea",
    "url": "https://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=280018"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Domestic startup investment reached a record-breaking 10.18 trillion won (about $7.5 billion) in the first to third quarters of 2024, exceeding the 10 trillion won mark for the first time since 2022. This surge was primarily driven by large-scale investments in AI companies, which temporarily lifted the market from the prolonged downturn known as the \"investment winter\" that began in late 2022. However, this record-breaking figure was heavily influenced by a secondary market transaction involving Dunamu, a 2.21 trillion won stake transaction that was incorrectly counted as an investment, accounting for over 20% of the total. Excluding the Dunamu transaction, the cumulative investment amount falls to around 8 trillion won, indicating that the initial enthusiasm may be waning. The investment amount in the third quarter declined by 35% compared to the second quarter, and 9.2% compared to the same period last year. The AI and robotics sectors accounted for 45% of the total investment funds in the third quarter, with some other sectors experiencing a significant increase in investment. However, early-stage investments in other sectors dropped by 28% compared to last year, making it increasingly difficult for these companies to attract funding. The drop in investments could deepen further in the fourth quarter as the domestic KOSPI and KOSDAQ stock markets have dropped to their lowest points in seven and three months, respectively, and the foreign selling trend continues. Venture capitalists are pessimistic about the outlook as recovery of funds through IPOs is delayed and the path to new investments becomes more challenging due to the high valuations of startups, especially in the AI sector.",
  "summary": "Domestic startup investment, which had swelled to double last year’s level in the first half of the year, declined in the third quarter, failing to even meet last year’s level. The cumulative investment amount exceeded 10 trillion won (about $7.5 billion) for the first time in four years, but assess",
  "key_points": [
    "Domestic startup investment topped 10 trillion won in Q1-Q3 2024.",
    "Dunamu transaction inflated figures, accounting for over 20%.",
    "Investment declined 35% in Q3 vs Q2, 9.2% vs same period last year."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}