Stic wins ₩500B scaleup fund in Korea's National Growth Fund second round
What's the deal? Stic InvestmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has been named sole general partner (GP) of a ₩500 billion scaleup fund, the largest mandate in the second round of Korea's National Growth Fund indirect-investment programme. The Korea Development BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Korea Growth Investment Corp selected seven GPs across four leagues on July 13, 2026, chosen from 65 firms and consortia that applied.
The details: Stic will receive ₩200 billion from the Korea Development Bank to build a fund of at least ₩500 billion. It beat J&Private Equity for the sole scaleup slot.
The fund targets small and mid-sized companies valued at ₩100 billion or more, supplying growth capital of at least ₩30 billion per deal. With no hard cap in place, the fund could exceed ₩500 billion depending on private limited partner commitments.
Why now? The mandate is Stic's first large-scale policy GP win since US-based Miri Capital replaced founder Do Yong-hwan as its largest shareholder in early 2026.
Who else won? In the ₩800 billion mid-cap league, Dominus Equity Partners, Woori Venture PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Korea Investment PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → were selected, each set to raise at least ₩200 billion. Dominus and Korea Investment Partners had reached the shortlist in the first round's large-cap league but lost out; both dropped down a tier to win this time. Dominus was the only private equity firm competing against four venture capital firms in its league.
The other leagues: SL Investment won the AI and semiconductor small-cap slot, drawing on ₩54 billion in policy capital to build a fund of at least ₩100 billion, with over 60% earmarked for AI and chip firms. In the regional league — the most competitive, with 37 applicants — SBI Investment and a KB SecuritiesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →–EcoPro Partners co-GP were picked to raise ₩200 billion for advanced-industry companies outside the capital region.
What mattered in selection? Beyond quantitative metrics such as assets under management and internal rate of return, evaluators weighed value-up capability and each firm's private LP network and fundraising capacity to close large funds within the year.
The signal: The Korea Development Bank and Korea Growth Investment plan to seed ₩695 billion in policy capital in this round to raise ₩1.6 trillion in total sub-funds. Including the 11 GPs from the first round, the programme now counts 18 GPs for the year — a widening state-backed push to channel growth capital into Korea's advanced strategic industries.
Read more: Edaily
