IDG Raises Korean Venture Fund

IDG Ventures has raised a $100 million venture capital fund focused on early-stage tech companies in Korea. The fund is based in Seoul, and is run by CEO and managing general partner Duk-Hwan Oh, former managing director in North Asia for market research company IDC. The team also includes vice president and general partner Sung-Taw Jie, CFO Matthew Lee and junior partner Hak-Kyoon Kim.

PRESS RELEASE

IDG Ventures, a global family of venture capital funds affiliated with International Data Group (IDG), today announced it recently established a $100 million venture capital fund in Seoul, Korea.

IDG Ventures Korea will focus on early-stage investments in technology and technology-enabled companies. These companies will cover a wide range of industries such as new media, environment, health care, education, content-creation, services and other emerging technology-enabled sectors.

“Our goal is to help entrepreneurs build category-leading companies in Korea and global markets,“ said Duk-Hwan Oh, IDG Ventures Korea's Managing General Partner. “We intend to invest in 30-50 companies within the next five years. While around 70% of our investments will be in companies based in Korea, we will also invest in companies outside Korea that want to leverage Korean companies as critical offshore cooperative partners or want to drive significant sales revenue from the Korean market.“

Pat McGovern, Founder and Chairman of IDG, said, “We are very pleased to have IDG Ventures Korea join our global family of venture capital funds. The people of Korea are early adopters of technology products and services. This creates a competitive advantage for Korean entrepreneurs in introducing innovative new products to the market and achieving rapid acceptance. These types of companies, supported by the worldwide technology market intelligence, databases, business contacts, and global presence of IDG, will allow IDG Ventures Korea to achieve excellent returns on their venture capital investing.“

With the addition of the Korea fund, IDG Ventures has grown from a single fund launched in China in 1992 into a global network of venture capital funds with over $2 billion under management and a portfolio of over 220 companies. Access to this global network differentiates IDG Ventures from the predominantly local venture capital scene currently found in Korea.

“There are about 100 venture capital firms now operating in Korea, and virtually all of them are local,“ said D.H. Oh. “One of our areas of strength is that we are part of the IDG global network, so we will be working closely with other IDG venture capitalists as a means to expand our business.“

IDG Ventures Korea partners anticipate making the first round of investments in December, 2007.

About the IDG Ventures Korea team:

Prior to joining IDG Ventures Korea as CEO and Managing General Partner, Duk-Hwan (D.H.) Oh, was Managing director in North Asia for IDC a market research and consulting company. IDG Ventures Korea's Vice President and General Partner, Sung-Tae Jin, spent the last decade in the financial industry including venture capital and financial advisory services. Junior Partner, Hak-Kyoon Kim, was previously a Principal of the venture investment group within LG Venture Investment one of the leading venture capital firms in Korea. IDG Ventures Korea's CFO is Matthew Lee who has been working in major venture capital companies, like KTBnetwork, since 1997.

Additional information about IDG Ventures Korea and its leadership team can be found at: www.idgvk.com/eng.

About IDG Ventures

IDG Ventures is a global network of venture capital funds with approximately $2 billion under management and a portfolio of over 220 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of six independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. Each partnership makes investments on behalf of its limited partners, including International Data Group (IDG), the world's largest IT media company. By combining the IDG platform