Top 5 Social Impact Startup Investors in South Korea in September 2025
A list of 5 angel investors and VC (Venture Capital) funds that invest in Social impact startups based in South korea. We rank investors based on the number of investments they made in Social impact companies from South korea. We update this investor list every month.Top 5 Social Impact Startup Investors in South Korea in September 2025
Investor | Social Impact South Korea investments |
---|---|
Taekkyung Lee | 2 |
Young Song | 2 |
Kiha Lee | 1 |
Jung-hee Ryu | 1 |
Douglas Guen | 1 |
Taekkyung Lee is the Founder , CEO and Representative Partner of Mashup Ventures. He previously worked at Primer Season2 as a Founding Partner. Taekkyung Lee attended Yonsei University.
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Investment focus
- Software, Information Technology, Marketing
- Seed, Angel, Funding Round
- South Korea
Portfolio highlights
- Soundl.ly — Soundl.ly provides IoT manufactures & app developers with the most reliable data-over-audio technology for pairing devices instantly with zero user hassle.* Our technology is 100% software, so 10 times cheaper than Bluetooth* UX becomes far simpler since the steps to turn Bluetooth ON are eliminated* Our patented technology is based onRADAR and outperforming competitors by 10xOur clients (as of Aug. '16):* Akbank TV commercials: we activated TV viewer's mobiles to send an app install link* Shopping&T: TV shopping network with 15M subscriber reach* Lotte Cinema: 30% marketshare of Korean domestic theaters
- 500videos Inc. — 500videos’s verified video comes with 3-point (place, people, product) verification. We visit to check actual location of business, check the business registration or real owner and shoot the real product or service.
- DRAMA & COMPANY — Draman Company is a Mobile-based startup offering a cloud-based business card management application. The company was established in June 2013.
Young Song joined NComputing as Founder and CEO in 2003.Mr. Song brings over 20 years of technology vision and entrepreneurial leadership with a focus on products that deliver life-enhancing value to education, business and consumers. He has founded and operated several start-up ventures with an inherent talent and track record for turning ideasinto viable products and sustainable businesses. He is also active angel investor through his own investment vehicle, Booga Ventures and Big Basin Capital as a venture partner. He founded and currently is Chief Executive Officer of NComputing group. Prior to co-founding NComputing, Mr. Song was also the founder and CEO of DoubleSight Displays, a company that delivered affordable and cost-effective dual displays to businesses and consumers and successfully acquired by Erae Inc, TV and Monitor company in South Korea. In addition, Mr. Song co-founded and was vice president of product marketing for eMachines, a pioneer in bringing affordable computing to consumers. eMachines went NASDAQ in 3 years and acquired by Gateway Computer. He began his career as marketing director for both TriGem America Corporation and TriGem Computer, Inc.Mr. Song holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. He is also an active volunteer for several non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and lives in Palo Alto with his family.
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Investment focus
- Travel, Software, Logistics
- Angel, Seed, Funding Round
- United States, South Korea
Portfolio highlights
- Primer — Primer (프라이머) is a startup accelerator that the partners are all entrepreneurs based in Korea. The company started Jan 2010.The company forms groups called “PrimerClub Members” by selecting potential entrepreneurs, invest seed fund and provides them with mentoring and other support services to help ensure successful outcomes in their newventures.
- Airmule — Airmule Founded in 2015 and built with love in Los Angeles, California, Airmule is a trusted community marketplace for anyone to affordably express ship worldwide with a traveler from a mobile phone or tablet.Whether across the country or the world, Airmule connects people to safely deliver packages anytime, anywhere at low rates and in lesstime. Airmule is the easiest way for people list their trip to earn money with their extra luggage space.
- Talkwheel — Talkwheel is where you discuss what you are passionate about in life. We are ushering in the new days of mobile conversation. Want to argue over who has the cutest pet, debate politics, or talk about the Giants during the game? Talkwheel is the app for that!Instead of tweeting and getting no response, write in Talkwheel and find fellowaficionados to have meaningful conversations around topics you care about. Unlike most mobile forums, Talkwheel believes that forums don’t have to be ugly to be functional. That’s why we’ve designed a beautiful mobile app with you, the user, as the focal point. You can even continue the conversation at your desktop at social.talkwheel.com!
Kiha Lee is the Founding Partner of Primer Sazze Partners. He previously worked at Sazze Partners as a Managing Partner. Kiha Lee attended the University of California Berkeley.
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Investment focus
- Apps, Sales, Artificial Intelligence
- Seed, Series A, Angel
- South Korea, United States, Japan
Portfolio highlights
- BIGC — BIGC is a technology company that offers digital marketing, content creation, and advertising services.
- Primer — Primer (프라이머) is a startup accelerator that the partners are all entrepreneurs based in Korea. The company started Jan 2010.The company forms groups called “PrimerClub Members” by selecting potential entrepreneurs, invest seed fund and provides them with mentoring and other support services to help ensure successful outcomes in their newventures.
- MakeDashy — Maximize repeat purchases with targeted user segmentation and dynamic product recommendation at Retentics, powered by AI
Jung-hee Ryu is the Partner and CEO of FuturePlay. He previously worked at FoundationX as a Partner. Jung-hee Ryu attended the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
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Investment focus
- Software, Fashion, Artificial Intelligence
- Seed, Angel, Pre-Seed
- South Korea, United States
Portfolio highlights
- Primer — Primer (프라이머) is a startup accelerator that the partners are all entrepreneurs based in Korea. The company started Jan 2010.The company forms groups called “PrimerClub Members” by selecting potential entrepreneurs, invest seed fund and provides them with mentoring and other support services to help ensure successful outcomes in their newventures.
- Alcacruz — A video streaming company with offices in Silicon Valley & Seoul. AlcaCruz created CruzTV, a global esports streaming platform that live streams multiple views (esports, sports games, concerts, channel programming, etc.) into one interactive screen. Our MultiView technology is based on AlcaCruz's SuperStream which live streams 360VR/AR/MR with superb video quality and at extremely low bandwidth (70% cost savings over conventional VR streaming).
- Soundl.ly — Soundl.ly provides IoT manufactures & app developers with the most reliable data-over-audio technology for pairing devices instantly with zero user hassle.* Our technology is 100% software, so 10 times cheaper than Bluetooth* UX becomes far simpler since the steps to turn Bluetooth ON are eliminated* Our patented technology is based onRADAR and outperforming competitors by 10xOur clients (as of Aug. '16):* Akbank TV commercials: we activated TV viewer's mobiles to send an app install link* Shopping&T: TV shopping network with 15M subscriber reach* Lotte Cinema: 30% marketshare of Korean domestic theaters
Douglas Guen is the CEO and Founder of Primer. He previously worked at INICIS as a Founder and CEO. Douglas Guen attended Kyungpook National University.
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Investment focus
- Lifestyle, Retail, E-Commerce
- Seed, Angel, Pre-Seed
- United States, South Korea
Portfolio highlights
- WASHSWAT — Washswat is a laundry service that washes and dries the laundry that is operated by specialized facilities and personnel. They innovate the market with IT technology. Laundromat started in Gangnam with the highest number of high-end cleaners in 2015 and walked step by step silently. In order to grow in the right direction even though it is alittle slower than others, they did not rush to expand the region. Now it is Korea's No. 1 mobile laundry special service at the King of Seoul, Seongnam, Hanam, Goyang, Gwangmyeong, Yongin, Suwon, Anyang, and Gwacheon.
- Soomgo — Soomgo is a local services marketplace where customers and local professionals for over 1,000+ services come together. Their services range from private music lessons and home cleaning to wedding planning and web development among many more. The company is backed by leading institutions in both South Korea and the United States including YCombinator (W17), FJ Labs, IMM, Atinum, TBT, Strong Ventures, KDB, and more.
- Melixir — Melixir is a cult beauty brand rooted in Korean skincare rituals backed by science. Inspired by Eastern philosophy, Melixir believes that Nature is the purest form of beauty and creates plant-based skincare products that are 100% vegan and sustainable. Using cutting-edge technology and proprietary ingredients like Green Elixir™, Melixir designs themost innovative products for sensitive skin that deliver clinically-proven results.
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