▲ This poster fpr the "2026 Seoul Beauty Week-Business Meetup Pitch Competition," set to take place on Aug. 25, 2026, at the conference hall of Dongdaemun Design Plaza, is provided by Seoul City. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul metropolitan government said Monday it will hold a startup pitching competition in August to discover promising companies in the beauty industry and help them expand into the market.

 

The "2026 Seoul Beauty Week-Business Meetup Pitch Competition" will take place on Aug. 25 at the conference hall of Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the city government said.

 

The event is part of Seoul Beauty Week, a flagship program under the "Beautiful Life in Seoul" (BLS) initiative. It is designed to provide market-entry opportunities for startups with innovative ideas and technologies in sectors such as cosmetics, beauty devices, beauty technology and digital platforms.

 

▲ Visitors crowd the "2025 Seoul Beauty Week" on Aug. 28, 2025 in Seoul, in photo provided by Seoul City. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

 

The competition is open to startups founded within the past seven years in the beauty industry, as well as prospective entrepreneurs.

 

Following a document screening process, nine teams will advance to the final round held during Seoul Beauty Week.

 

All finalists will receive one-on-one mentoring from professional investment evaluators and opportunities to attract investment.

 

The competition will award a total of 20 million won (US$14,500) in prize money, including 10 million won for the grand prize winner, 5 million won for the top excellence award recipient, 1 million won each for three excellence award winners and 500,000 won each for four encouragement award recipients.

 

Teams winning the grand prize, top excellence award and excellence awards will also receive awards from the mayor of Seoul.

 

Applications will be accepted through June 26 by the Seoul Beauty Week organizing office. Additional details are available on the Seoul Beauty Week and Seoul city government websites.

 

Lee Soo-yeon, head of Seoul's Economic Policy Office, said the city will focus on business matching programs to help innovative companies discovered through the competition establish themselves as attractive partners for domestic and international investors.

 

"We hope many startups with innovative ideas and technologies aimed at the global market will take part," Lee said.

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