Applying for a government subsidy or grant?

Korea runs a wide range of government and local-government subsidy programs — national R&D grants, city-level startup competitions, industry-specific support like a technopark's drone-industry program — but a strong technology or business plan alone doesn't guarantee an award. Many applications are disqualified on a technicality before a reviewer even reaches the business content, such as a local ordinance's compliance-violation deduction the applicant never knew existed.

What this covers

• National vs. local subsidies — 국고보조금 (central government, for nationwide-standard services or major infrastructure) and 지방보조금 (local government) are administered differently and often confused
• National and local-government subsidy applications, including e나라도움 (national grant management system) and 나라장터/G2B (public procurement) registration and filings — a public procurement notice above 230 million won for goods/services generally requires open bidding through 나라장터 under the Ministry of Economy and Finance's notice and the integrated subsidy management guideline
• Certificate of Direct Production (직접생산확인증명서) — a separate prerequisite for public-procurement bidding under the SME Product Purchase Promotion Act, confirming the applicant actually manufactures the product rather than reselling it; some service categories (e.g. video production) require an on-site inspection, and it's required even for negotiated (수의) contracts above 10 million won
• Women-owned business certification (여성기업확인서) — required for public-institution preferential purchasing, public-bid scoring bonuses, and eligibility for women-business-targeted marketing support; often paired with a 기업부설연구소 certification bonus point (see our R&D department certification service)
• Prerequisite registrations some programs require before you can even apply — e.g. a green-bio product commercialization grant that requires 그린바이오기업 신고 수리 (registration acceptance) first; missing this step blocks the application entirely, regardless of the business plan's quality
• Industry-specific competitive programs, such as a technopark's targeted support for a sector like drones or green-bio, and in-kind support programs like free HACCP certification consulting or ESG management consulting
• Startup competition applications with cash awards, including eligibility checks for programs open only to specific groups (e.g. veterans, youth entrepreneurs — with nuances like military service time being credited against an age cutoff)
• Local ordinance compliance review — the specific deduction/disqualification rules a given local government applies, which are often not obvious from the public announcement alone
• Clawback disputes — when a local government tries to recover misused subsidy funds from the wrong party (e.g. an individual member instead of the recipient organization) or rejects a claim over a one-day technicality, both of which can be challenged through administrative appeal (see our administrative appeal & disposition challenge service)

What we handle

• Reviewing the announcement's eligibility criteria against your business and flagging disqualifying factors before you apply
• Preparing the full application package, including the business plan the specific program requires
• Certificate of Direct Production and women-owned business certification applications, including preparing for the on-site inspection
• Confirming any prerequisite registration (like a green-bio company notification) is filed before the funding application itself
• e나라도움/나라장터 registration and the ongoing filings a funded project requires
• Local ordinance compliance review, so an otherwise-strong application isn't rejected on a technical deduction

How the process works

1. We review the subsidy or grant announcement and confirm your business meets its eligibility criteria, including any prerequisite registration.
2. We prepare the application package and the required business/technology plan, plus any Direct Production or women-owned business certificate the program requires.
3. We handle e나라도움/나라장터 registration and filings, and follow the application through to a decision.

Who typically needs this

Startups and SMEs applying for R&D or industry-specific technopark support, businesses applying for a local government's startup competition or subsidy program, companies preparing for public-procurement bidding who need a Direct Production certificate, women-owned businesses seeking certification and its associated benefits, and companies that need e나라도움/나라장터 registration to receive or report on awarded funding.

Common mistakes

• Applying without checking a local ordinance's compliance-violation deduction criteria, which can disqualify an otherwise-eligible business
• Assuming a niche program (e.g. drone-specific or region-specific) doesn't apply to a company that only makes one component, without confirming the actual eligibility language
• Treating e나라도움/나라장터 registration as optional — funded projects generally require it for disbursement and reporting
• Skipping a program's prerequisite registration (like green-bio company notification), which blocks the application regardless of business-plan quality
• Assuming public-procurement bidding needs no more than the product itself — a Direct Production certificate is a separate, required step

Timeline

Timelines are set by each program's own application window; eligibility and compliance review should start as soon as an announcement is published, not after the deadline is close.

Need the entity itself registered first? See our factory registration or nonprofit & entity setup service.