[Startup] Venture Business Certification Validity Period of 3 Years: Reapplication Period and Documents Before Expiration — Criteria Change After 3 Years of Startup

3-Line Summary

• The validity period of a Venture Business Certificate is 3 years from the date of confirmation, and there is no separate renewal process. You must request a new confirmation before it expires.
• For the R&D Type and Innovative Growth Type, the processing period is 45 days, which can be extended once for 20 days, making the maximum 65 days; the application date is determined by counting backward from this period.
• Once 3 years have passed since startup, the R&D Type is subject to a criterion regarding the ratio of R&D expenses to sales (5% or more, or above the ratio announced by industry). First, we calculate whether it is possible to reapply using the same type as the initial confirmation.

Table of Contents

1. Inquiries regarding certificate expirations increasing in October
2. Circumstances identified during a video consultation 70 days before expiration
3. The reason why it was impossible to reapply with the same type as the first time
4. Calculation of the previous 4 quarters and the application timing
5. The 30-day research institute change report and internal company notification records
6. Innovative Growth Type application form and evidence organization
7. Certificate issuance and subsequent schedule
8. Administrative agent (administrative scrivener) office work details and preparation checklist

1. Inquiries regarding certificate expirations increasing in October

I am an administrative agent (administrative scrivener) with an office in Songdo, Incheon. I would like to introduce an episode I encountered while working.

Every year when October comes, inquiries from corporations tend to change in a similar pattern. These are people who, while checking next year’s support project announcements in advance or preparing documents for the extension of policy fund periods, belatedly realize that their certificates or confirmations are set to expire at the end of the year.

The validity period and the method for re-obtaining a confirmation received by a company vary depending on its type. A Venture Business Confirmation is valid for 3 years from the date of confirmation, a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Confirmation is for 1 year aligned with the fiscal year-end, and Direct Production Confirmation is for 2 years. Some must be reapplied for within a specific period before expiration to maintain continuity, while others have no renewal process at all and must be applied for from scratch, just like the first time.

This story is about a company with 70 days left until its Venture Business Confirmation expires. They thought they could simply apply the same way they did when they first received the confirmation, but in the meantime, the company had grown, making it difficult to meet the criteria for the same category.

2. Circumstances identified during a video consultation 70 days before expiration

First, an email arrived. It included a short question along with a copy of the certificate: “When and where should I click to renew the Venture Certificate?”

On the scheduled day, we spoke via video call. The CEO was a woman in her late 20s, running a company that produces vibration sensors attached to factory equipment and analysis software that alerts users to abnormal signs. The company was founded in July 2021 and had 9 employees.

The company’s situation was as follows:

• Venture Business Certificate: Confirmed on December 18, 2022, R&D type. Since it is valid for 3 years from the confirmation date, it is valid until December 17, 2025.
• Policy Fund Loan: A copy of a valid certificate must be submitted during the extension review early next year.
• Government R&D Project in Q1 of next year: Planning to apply for a public notice that includes bonus points for being a Venture Business.
• Researcher Recruitment: The contract renewal schedule for two researchers is tied to the selection results of the project.

The structure was such that if a gap occurred in the certificate, both the policy fund extension documents and the project bonus points would be jeopardized simultaneously. The CEO believed that the certificate received three years ago would be “automatically extended” and mentioned that the expiration notification set up by the company’s developer had not gone off. That story will be revisited later.

Before ending the call, I informed her that there is no “renewal button.” The validity period of a Venture Business Certificate is set to 3 years from the date of confirmation under Article 18-4 of the “Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on the Promotion of Venture Businesses,” and the process involves requesting re-confirmation and receiving a new certificate as the expiration approaches.

3. The reason why they could not re-apply with the same type they initially received

The CEO stated that they would apply under the same R&D type as three years ago. This is because the corporate R&D institute remains intact, and R&D expenses have actually increased.

There was one specific provision to verify here. The R&D type is determined under Article 2-2, Paragraph 1, Item 2, Sub-item (b) of the Act. A company must possess a corporate R&D institute or a dedicated R&D department, and the annual R&D expenses and the ratio of R&D expenses to annual sales must each meet the standards set by Presidential Decree. There are two criteria stipulated in Article 2-3, Paragraph 5 of the Enforcement Decree:

1. Annual R&D expenses of 50 million KRW or more
2. A ratio of R&D expenses to annual total sales of 5% or more, and meeting the ratio announced for each industry

However, the proviso of the same Sub-item (b) contains the sentence: “The ratio standard shall not apply to companies that have not passed three years since their establishment.”

Three years ago, this company was in its 17th month of operation. The ratio-based criteria did not apply, and they only needed to exceed 50 million KRW in R&D expenses. Now, they are in their 43rd month of operation. This time, they must also meet the ratio-based criteria.

The CEO looked away from the screen for a moment and said, “In the meantime, our sales have tripled.”

An increase in sales is a good thing for a company. However, if R&D expenses do not grow at the same rate, the ratio will decrease. For this reason, it was a difficult situation to get re-verified under the same category.

4. Calculation of the Previous 4 Quarters and Application Timing

The period for calculating the ratio is also specified in the legal provisions. Article 2-3, Paragraph 6 of the Enforcement Decree uses the previous four quarters including the quarter in which the request for verification was made, based on R&D expenses and total sales.

If applied for in October, the calculation period is from the 4th quarter of 2024 to the 3rd quarter of 2025. I calculated this using the quarterly data provided by the company.

Although the R&D expenses exceeded 50 million KRW, the ratio fell short of 5%. It was already below the baseline before even looking at the industry-specific notification ratios.

The CEO asked, “If we postpone the application to January next year, won’t the calculation period change?”

That is a valid point. If applied for in January, the period from the 1st quarter to the 4th quarter of 2025 would become the standard. However, the existing certificate expires on December 17. If the application is postponed, instead of changing the calculation period, a gap without a certificate will be created, and the review for policy fund extensions and project announcements will fall into that gap.

Therefore, I back-calculated starting from the processing period. Article 8, Paragraph 2 of the Enforcement Rule stipulates the processing period for the R&D Type and Innovative Growth Type as 45 days, and allows for one extension of up to 20 days in unavoidable circumstances.

• Application on October 10 → Notification around November 24 if 45 days
• If extended once, maximum around December 14
• Existing certificate expiration date: December 17

If a request for supplementation is issued, it will be delayed by that amount. The application had to be filed within the second week of October so that it could be completed before expiration, even with an extension. There were fewer than 10 days remaining.

That left the question of which type to apply under. For the Venture Investment Type, the total investment from qualified investors must be 50 million KRW or more and at least 10% of the capital, but this company had never received external investment. The remaining option was Article 2-2, Paragraph 1, Item 2, Sub-item (c) of the Act: the Innovative Growth Type. This is a type where the verification agency evaluates the innovativeness of the technology and the growth potential of the business, and there is no ratio standard relative to sales.

5. 30-Day Lab Change Notification and Internal Notification Records of the Company

After deciding on the type and sending the list of materials, the CEO brought up the subject of the research institute. He mentioned that one researcher resigned on August 22nd, and the successor is scheduled to join at the end of October. At that time, the report regarding the research institute had not been filed.

This was something that needed to be handled first, separately from the Venture Certification. Article 5 of the Enforcement Rule of the “Basic Research Promotion and Technology Development Support Act,” which was applicable at the time, stipulated changes in research institute personnel as a matter requiring a report of change, and required the submission of a report of change within 30 days from the date of the change. Since the resignation was on August 22nd, the deadline had already passed as of September 21st. As of February 1, 2026, it has been moved to the “Act on Support for Research and Development of Corporate Research Institutes, etc.,” and even now, Article 5 of the Enforcement Rule stipulates R&D personnel as a matter requiring a report of change, and Article 7, Paragraph 2 of the Enforcement Decree stipulates reporting within 30 days.

Fortunately, the grounds for revocation of recognition are when a report is not filed within one year from the date the reason for change occurred (Article 14-3, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the law at the time; Article 8, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the current law). If reported immediately, it does not fall under the grounds for revocation. Even in cases where the requirements for recognition are no longer met, a supplementary order is issued, and a one-month period for supplementation is granted (Article 7, Paragraph 5 of the current law provides for one month or more).

There was a specific reason for filing the report of change first. In the evaluation for the Innovative Growth Type, the company’s research organization and personnel serve as data explaining the excellence of the technology. If the research personnel written in the application differs from the details reported to the research institute, it creates an additional matter to explain during the evaluation process. Therefore, we first submitted a report of change (Form No. 8) reflecting the resignation and the scheduled hiring, and then matched the personnel status in the Venture Certification application to match those details.

I also found out then why the expiration notification did not go off. On the day we received the confirmation three years ago, a developer had created a “90-day before expiration” bot on the company messenger. However, when the company moved its server last year, that bot disappeared along with it, and the person who created the bot was the very same researcher who resigned this past August. The CEO smiled and said, “I’ll write the next notification on a paper calendar.”

6. Organizing Innovation Growth Type Application and Supporting Documents

The evaluation criteria for the Innovative Growth Type are broadly outlined in Article 2-3, Paragraph 11 of the Enforcement Decree. These are the excellence of technology, the competitiveness of products/services, and market size and prospects. Detailed criteria are determined by public notice, and the verifying agency evaluates them through document review and on-site inspections.

This company had a large amount of data accumulated over three years, but it was scattered. While writing the application, I regrouped the evidence to align with the evaluation criteria.

1. Excellence of technology: 2 registered patents and 1 pending patent, a list of research projects from the laboratory, and prototype test results. I summarized on a single page how the patent claims connect to the functions of the actual products being sold.
2. Product/service competitiveness: Contracts and renewal histories from 11 clients. I placed the record of the first client factory increasing the number of units installed for the second consecutive year at the forefront.
3. Market size and prospects: Market analysis from the business plan written by the CEO. I re-aligned the figures by narrowing the scope to the specific industrial sectors where the company actually sells its products.

There was only one criterion for selecting the data: Can an evaluator follow, solely by looking at the documents, “So, where is this company’s technology being sold?” Awards or media reports that were in the company introduction materials were moved to the reference section at the back, as they did not directly relate to the evaluation criteria.

I sent a written inquiry to the policy fund department. I asked whether a confirmation of application could substitute for a new certificate if a new one had not yet been issued at the time of the extension review, or if it could be submitted after issuance. The answer was, “Submit a valid certificate as of the review date; if the existing certificate is valid, that is acceptable.” Since the existing certificate was valid until December 17, we simply needed to move up the schedule to have the extension review before then. After receiving this answer, the CEO rescheduled the review date with the financial institution representative to the first week of December.

The application was submitted via the Venture Confirmation System on October 10.

7. Certificate Issuance and Subsequent Schedule

Three weeks after the application was submitted, an on-site inspection schedule was set by the verifying agency. The evaluator reviewed videos of the sensors actually attached to the equipment and the analysis screens, and asked where the patented technology is integrated into the product. The CEO explained it according to the connection table organized in the application.

There was one request for supplementation. Since a contract from one of the suppliers was under the name of an agency, we were requested to provide materials to verify the final installation site, and we submitted the agency’s confirmation within two days.

In this case, the Venture Business Certificate was issued under the Innovative Growth Type on November 27. The validity period of the new certificate is 3 years from the date of issuance. It was 20 days before the expiration of the existing certificate, and the review for the extension of policy funds proceeded as scheduled in the first week of December.

Finally, I created a single schedule containing the company’s certificates and licenses.

The reason for setting the Venture re-examination 4 months in advance is to account for the maximum processing period of 65 days, plus the time required to organize data from the previous four quarters and determine the type. Since the R&D expense ratio might exceed 5% again, which could lead to returning to the R&D type, we decided to calculate both types together at that time.

8. Administrative Agent (Administrative Scrivener) Office Work Details and Preparation Checklist

Hwang Yunsang Administrative Agent (Administrative Scrivener) Office provides document preparation and filing services for Venture Business Certification Applications and Corporate R&D Institute Change Notifications. We assist with everything from calculating application schedules by back-calculating from the certificate expiration date and processing period, to calculating criteria by type, organizing evidence according to evaluation standards, and responding to requests for supplementation.

Documents Required for Venture Business Certification Re-application

1. Venture Business Confirmation Application (Ministry of SMEs and Startups Notification Form, Electronic Application via Venture Confirmation System)
2. Copy of existing Venture Business Confirmation (to verify expiration date)
3. Sales and R&D expenditure data for the last 4 quarters (to determine business type)
4. Certificate of Corporate R&D Institute and recent change reports (to explain R&D type or research organization)
5. Technical evidence such as patents and certifications, and major supply/contract documents
6. Business Plan (explaining market and growth potential)

If you are in these situations, check these first

• ① The expiration date of your confirmation is within 4 months, but you haven’t started preparing the application yet.
• ② You were under 3 years since startup when you first received confirmation, but 3 years have now passed.
• ③ Sales have increased significantly or research personnel have changed in the meantime.
• ④ A schedule for submitting the confirmation has been set for policy funds or government support project documents.

If the expiration date passes, you must undergo the entire process from the beginning, and the gap in between can affect the schedules of other documents. Rather than just knowing the expiration date, it is more useful to count backward from that date to know when and what to start. Since standards and processing schedules vary by case, individual verification is required.

This has been restructured for better understanding and is not related to any specific person or event.

We are an administrative agent (administrative scrivener) office located in Songdo, Incheon (POSCO Tower Songdo). We handle administrative appeals, licensing/reporting agency services, immigration for foreigners (visas/residency), corporate certification, and regular administrative management. If your company’s venture business confirmation is approaching expiration or you need to re-evaluate your business type, let’s calculate the schedule together. If you are curious about similar situations, please feel free to leave an inquiry.

• Address: Room 2697, POSCO Tower Songdo, 165 Convensia-daero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon
• Phone: 010-3374-2687
• Website: www.hwangadmin.com