Korean 'Caring Companies' Spotlighted at the Davos Forum

Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun is smiling brightly while attending the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] "Korea's caring companies are striving to realize the values of coexistence and inclusion."

On the 22nd (local time), Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said this at the 50th World Economic Forum Advanced Manufacturing and Production (AMP) Board meeting held in Davos, Switzerland, adding, "Key examples include Samsung Electronics' smart factory project for SMEs and Hyundai Motor Company's project to convert parts suppliers to electric vehicle parts business."

The board meeting was held under the theme of "What are the major challenges faced by industries and governments in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution?" Minister Park was invited as a board member of the Davos Forum AMP sector and is currently visiting Switzerland.

The case of Korea's caring companies aligns with the theme of this year's Davos Forum, "Stakeholders for a harmonious and sustainable world." Caring companies refer to voluntarily cooperative companies. They share the strengths of large corporations such as infrastructure, win-win programs, and know-how with partner companies, small and medium enterprises, small business owners, and even non-trading companies.

In the meeting, In Thaman Shanmugaratnam, co-chair of the AMP board, mentioned these Korean cases and emphasized, "AMP should actively promote caring companies worldwide so that many countries can learn from Korea's excellent policy cases and reflect them in their own policies."

Minister Park also explained caring companies during a meeting with the vice presidents of the global IT company Amazon Web Services (AWS) the day before. He said, "I hope Amazon Web Services will actively support Korean startups and be included as a caring company."

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups selected Naver, POSCO, Shinhan Financial Group, KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, SoftBank Ventures, Samsung Electronics, KEB Hana Bank, Korea Rail Network Authority, and Hyundai-Kia Motors as caring companies starting from May last year. Following the 10 companies selected last year, they plan to discover and select 12 companies this year.

The Davos Forum opened on the 21st (local time) and will run until the 24th. On the 21st, Minister Park also had a meeting with Børge Brende, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum. Introducing the global startup festival 'ComeUp 2019' held in Korea last year, he proposed, "Let's hold a 'Little Davos Forum for Young Startups' in Korea for ComeUp 2020 with the participation of the World Economic Forum."

He also shared his impressions from the local visit through social networking services (SNS). Minister Park said, "The world economy is now paying attention to K (Korea) startups," adding, "Davos is interested in the scale-up of startups into unicorn companies and wants to share the values of unicorn companies for sustainable growth worldwide."

He continued, "Taking this opportunity at the Davos Forum, I intend to promote Smart Korea through SME manufacturing data centers, smart factories, smart stores, and smart services, and contribute as a member creating sustainable growth for our economy."