https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/2484905

Ministry of SMEs and Startups Hosts Women’s Startup Competition Awards Ceremony – Grand Prize Awarded to Sojin Jung, CEO of BeyondDx

July 4, 2025 | Seoul, South Korea

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) held the awards ceremony for the 26th Women’s Startup Competition on July 4 at the Nine Tree Premier Rokaus Hotel in Yongsan, Seoul. Out of 1,131 competing teams, a total of 40 teams were selected as award recipients, with Sojin Jung, CEO of BeyondDx, taking home the grand prize (Presidential Award) for her development of an AI-powered algorithm that predicts lung cancer risk using multi-biomarker analysis.

The Women’s Startup Competition is Korea’s only national competition for women (and prospective) entrepreneurs, aimed at identifying outstanding startup ideas and promoting technology-based businesses founded by women. This year’s competition recorded a 28:1 competition ratio, underscoring its growing prestige and competitiveness.

In alignment with its objective to foster technology-driven startups, 79.5% of participating teams were in sectors such as bio-health and educational services. The high representation in tech-driven fields highlights the increasing role of women in Korea’s innovation economy.

Grand Prize Winner: BeyondDx’s AI-based Lung Cancer Diagnostic Technology

The grand prize was awarded to Sojin Jung of BeyondDx, who developed a lung cancer diagnostic platform that utilizes a combination algorithm based on blood-derived multi-biomarkers. This technology analyzes multiple cancer-related protein markers through a single blood draw and uses artificial intelligence to predict cancer risk with high accuracy.

Other Major Awardees:

• Excellence Awards:

  • Min-Kyung Cho, CEO of Singing Beatle – for a high-efficiency K-pop global idol training platform

  • Hee-Jin Lim, a prospective entrepreneur – for building a global AI-generated content marketplace

• Merit Awards:

  • Ui-Jin Yoon, CEO of EJM Company – for an AI-based SaaS system for redevelopment and reconstruction project management

  • Jung-Eun Shin, CEO of Voinosis – for a dementia-prevention AI healthcare service

  • Jo-Young Choi, a prospective founder – for an AI-powered solution that automates the review and preparation of regulatory documents for medical devices

Post-Award Support

All awardees will receive follow-up support programs including commercialization consulting, investment matchmaking, and access to government funding. Additionally, the top 26 teams will secure a spot in the national finals of “Challenge! K-Startup 2025”, scheduled for September.

Remarks from Government

Deputy Minister Kim Sung-seop of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated,

“To ensure women-led startups grow and thrive—from foundation to scale-up and global expansion—MSS will continue to provide customized, full-cycle support through targeted policies.”