Sopoong Ventures and Hallym Holdings Form 13.5B-Won Gangwon Fund
Sopoong Ventures and Hallym University Technology Holdings have formed a 13.5 billion won fund to back climate tech and healthcare startups in Korea's Gangwon region.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesSopoong Ventures and Hallym University Technology Holdings have formed the Hallym-Sopoong Gangwon Strategic Industry Investment Partnership, a fund worth 13.5 billion won. The inaugural meeting took place on November 3 at Hallym University. Sopoong Ventures partner Lee Hak-jong and Hallym University Technology Holdings CEO Lee Hee-woo will serve as co-lead fund managers.
The fund was created after the two firms were selected as a regional-league venture capital manager in the second-year call for sub-funds under the Gangwon Strategic Industry Venture Fund, organized by Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province. The parent fund contributed 9.4 billion won. The partnership has an eight-year term and will invest in early-stage companies based in Gangwon, companies relocating to the region, and businesses in the province's seven future industries.
Two investment tracks
The first track covers rising power demand and the energy transition driven by the spread of AI data centers. It targets climate tech companies working on ESS and BMS, distributed energy and virtual power plants (VPP), and hydrogen and clean energy. The managers plan to use the Donghae AI data center and the energy industry base in Donghae, Samcheok and Taebaek as sites for technology demonstration and commercialization.
The second track is healthcare convergence, aimed at a market where biotechnology is spreading into medical devices, digital health and functional foods. The fund will work with the research and clinical infrastructure of Hallym University and its five medical centers.
The roles are split: Sopoong Ventures handles climate tech and deep tech investments and attracts outside technology companies, while Hallym University Technology Holdings sources research results from the university and hospitals and runs clinical proof-of-concept (PoC) work.
Sopoong Ventures was named a climate-tech-focused TIPS operator in 2025 and also manages a climate tech fund with the Seoul city government. It has invested in Gangwon since forming the Gangwon Picnic Investment Partnership in 2020.
Lee Hak-jong said the fund aims to add climate tech and deep tech investment capability to Gangwon's technology and resources, and to support full-cycle scale-up in the province's seven future strategic industries. Lee Hee-woo said the group will combine the research and clinical resources of the university and medical centers with the local venture ecosystem, with the goal of producing unicorn companies.
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