The main event will be held on the upcoming 26th and 27th aboard the Busan Fanstar Miracle.
Maeil Ilbo = Reporter Oh Si-nae | The Korea Startup Forum (KOSPO) announced on the 11th that it held a preliminary pitching competition at Notice in Jung-gu, Busan on July 9-10 ahead of the ‘2025 Busan Slush’D’ event and selected 13 startup teams to participate in the main event.
The 2025 Busan Slush will be held on board the Panstar Miracle, departing from Busan Port, on the 26th and 27th of this month. Breaking away from conventional conference spaces such as convention centers or startup hubs, the event will take place at sea, leveraging Busan’s unique regional characteristics. The event aims to strengthen organic connections between programs and enhance participant immersion. This event is sponsored by the Busan Metropolitan City, Busan Institute of Technology & Startup Investment, Panstar, the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Pusan National University Startup Support Center, Law Firm Mission, Korea Southern Power, and the Korea Development Bank.
Startup pitching is a session to discover innovative local ideas that solve local problems. For about a month starting last June, open recruitment was conducted for ‘Slush’D 10,’ targeting early-stage startups in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions, and ‘Slush’D Youth,’ open to university students and aspiring entrepreneurs. Following document evaluations and pitching assessments, 13 startups were finally selected to participate in the main event.
A total of 10 teams were selected for Slushid 10. The list includes Nanugi World (an educational travel platform for students from ODA countries), D-Live (a sustainable economic driving induction system based on vehicle ECU data) , Meshlink (a semiconductor education platform utilizing XR equipment) , Softsquared (a subscription-based collaboration platform for development teams), Skycube (a fintech solution for the digital assetization of air rights), Sea Life Science Lab (a deep tech and AI-based solution for optimizing seafood distribution), JourneyMedi (an Agentic AI-based medical tourism platform), Kifu (development of an automatic inflatable air splint), Pharos Marine (development of hydrogen-electric-based eco-friendly ship propulsion systems and infrastructure), and Fore (an archiving-based targeted marketing solution). All advanced teams will be provided with various benefits, including the opportunity to participate in the main event and promotion through the official channels of the 2025 Busan Slushid.
At the announcement that day, Pharos Marine was selected and also received a prize of 3 million won as a special prize for winning. Additionally, Kifu, a university student team that presented a startup idea at last year’s Slushid Youth League, was selected for Slushid 10 this year, demonstrating a journey of growth as a startup representing Busan Slushid.
At Slushed Youth, a total of 10 prospective startup teams of university and graduate students who passed the document screening participated in the preliminary pitching presentations. As a result of the evaluation, three teams were finally selected: IOIO (a platform connecting farm owners and veterinarians), Oasis (development of a water-based oil spill cleanup robot), and Charim (development of cat litter made from coffee grounds biochar). These three teams will be granted opportunities to participate in the main event held on a cruise ship, as well as group and 1:1 matching programs such as the ‘Busan Slushed Meetup,’ and networking with senior entrepreneurs from Korea and abroad. Oasis was selected as the top team of Slushed Youth and awarded a prize of 1 million won.
Han Sang-woo, Chairman of KOSPO, said, “I am pleased to be able to introduce promising innovative companies that will be responsible for the region’s future at this year’s event as well,” adding, “Through this event held on a ship, we will provide opportunities to drive substantial investment attraction and growth by facilitating intensive networking between startups and investors.”
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