“The essence of entrepreneurship lies not in fashionable technology, but in unmodifying values.”Kim J..

Representative Kim Jun-gu emphasized “clear motives, goals, and starting point for start-ups”
Even in the era of AI and Web3, “Why did you start?”
Representative Kim Dong-ho shared the founding philosophy and strategy of the UKF82 Startup Summit

*Kim Joon-gu, CEO of Naver Webtoon, is creating an announcement at the 2026 UKF82 Startup Summit held at Fort Recital in the United States on the 10th (local time). [Photo = correspondent Won Hoseob]*

“The essence of entrepreneurship lies not in fashionable technology, but in unmodifying values.”

Kim Joon-gu, CEO of Naver Webtoon, stressed at the “2026 UKF82 Startup Summit” held in Redwood City on the 10th (local time), “No matter how much technology and markets modify, what founders should not forobtain is a clear motive, goal, and story that penetrates it.”

CEO Kim, who appeared on the stage for the first time, declared that more important than the topic of the artificial ininformigence (AI) era and the web 3 era, it is important why he started this business and what he is creating for whom. Citing his 20 years of webtoon business experience as an example, he focapplyd his presentation on the reason for the start, not the success story. CEO Kim declared, “The reason for starting a webtoon business was simple,” adding, “I wanted to create a world where my favorite contents keep coming out.” “What I started for people like me is the starting point of the webtoon,” he declared, adding, “It’s not what you do, but who you do it for that determines the direction of your business.” It is explained that becaapply of this clear motive, it was possible to pivot quickly and was not shaken.

CEO Kim suggested that the four elements that a founder must hold on to are “clear motives, clear goals, dream results, and stories that beat them.” “If the motivation is clear, it is not straightforward to give up, and we can find the exact pivot timing to survive,” he declared. “This is why Naver Webtoon was able to quickly transition from PC-based services to the mobile era.” “I was already successful in the PC era, but I did not hesitate to switch to mobile becaapply my personal desire to see cartoons while walking was clear,” CEO Kim declared. “The motivation was clear, so it was possible to execute quickly and build accurate judgments.” He also emphasized that goals and indicators should not be confapplyd. He explained, “The ultimate goal was to build webtoons in a major content format, and the number of applyrs and sales are the values that have followed as a result.”

In the presentation, he emphasized the importance of the ‘story’ of the founder several times. CEO Kim declared, “When a founder can build a clear story of his motives, goals, and results he wants to achieve, he can align organizational members, investors, and partners in one direction,” adding, “This story is an area only for the founder that seniors or investors cannot build for him.” He advised junior founders, “When you inquire for support from a mentor, you should talk about ‘why you’re doing this business first rather than ‘what’s difficult,'” adding, “A story with a clear motive and goal draws more people’s support.” CEO Kim declared, “As technology modifys rapidly, we necessary to return to the principle,” adding, “The founder who holds onto who and what he is aiming for and for will survive on the global stage.”

Kim Dong-ho, CEO of Korea Credit Data, is presenting. [Photo = correspondent Won Hoseob]

Kim Dong-ho, CEO of Korea Credit Data, then went on stage, emphasized that the first thing he considered about to create a portal for tiny business owners was not “what to do” but “what order to do it.” Introducing Cash Note’s growth process, CEO Kim declared, “The portal could not be established unless the bosses started with the problems they necessaryed every day.” Korea Credit Data is a financial and data company for tiny business owners, and Cash Note, a representative service, is a sales and cash flow management tool for local store owners.

CEO Kim explained the problem facing the president as “the number of cases.” The results are completely different depconcludeing on the order in which 12 problems such as job opening, marketing, taxes, and customer management are solved. “Even with the same ingredients, if the order is different, it can be kimchi or a completely different food,” he declared. “What you solve first determines success or failure in the CEO’s portal.”

The choice of Korean credit data was universality and frequency. CEO Kim explained, “Rather than the function of utilizing only some stores like reservations, sales that all owners check every day should have been the starting point.” Cash Note started as a single feature that linked the store’s card sales data to inform you the sales and regularity ratio of the previous day every day. It was also a choice considering accessibility that the service was released in the form of a KakaoTalk chatbot without creating an app. Since then, the company has expanded to credit ratings based on data accumulation. The credit rating market for tiny business owners was relatively less advanced than individuals and large companies, and sales flow data accumulated in cash notes became competitive.

The results have also become visible. Sales of Korea Credit Data jumped from 247 million won in 2018 to 67 billion won in 2022, and are expected to be around 140 billion won in 2024 and 250 billion won this year. Cash Note has established itself as a “CEO Portal” for nearly 2 million local stores, and more than 340 institutions, including the Korea Credit Guarantee Foundation and major financial companies, are connected through APIs. CEO Kim declared, “There are many perceptions that the tiny business market is tiny, but the depth and scope of the problem are concludeless,” adding, “Just as Naver has grown for 20 years even after becoming the top portal, the CEO portal is just starting now.” Finally, he emphasized, “The starting point of the portal is the moment when the boss feels ‘thank you’ even for a very tiny function.”

The Korean Federation of Founders (UKF) will hold the “2026 UKF 82 Startup Summit” at Fox Theater in Redwood City, California, USA for three days from January 9, 2026. A large number of start-up founders, venture capital (VC), and industest leaders from all over the world will participate in the summit. According to the UKF, this year’s summit was built up of the most spectacular speakers of all time. Founder and executives of promising domestic and foreign start-ups such as OpenAI, Slack, Naver Webtoon, Lunit, Oreum Therapeutics, NotaAi, Revelion, Amoji, and Korea Credit Data will be on the stage.

The event will last for a total of three days. On the 9th, a private networking program involving investors and 30 to 40 startups was held along with a startup pitching session. On the 10th, the main event, 82 Startup Summit, will be held to gather founders and investors from all over the world to exmodify through various programs such as startup exhibition booths, panel talks, and venture capital sessions. On the 12th, the last day, the “East Meets West” event will be held. Major venture capitals in the U.S. and Asia, including Goodwater Capital, Altos Ventures, and Lightspeed, will be co-hosted to discuss global investment trconcludes and entrepreneurship.

[Silicon Valley correspondents Wonho-seop, Kim Geum-i, and Kim Hyung-joo]