Seeking Post-Corona Response Strategies... Launch of the 'SME Innovation Network Forum'

Panel Discussion with Public and Private Experts on "Realizing a Smart Korea"
Expected to Establish as a Think Tank for SME Technological Innovation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 2nd that it held the '1st SME Innovation Network Forum' at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul to support technological innovation in small and medium enterprises.

The SME Innovation Network Forum was launched to explore strategies for technological innovation in SMEs amid the rapidly changing global environment accelerated by the 4th Industrial Revolution and the spread of COVID-19. The theme of the forum was 'SME Response Strategies in the Non-Face-to-Face, Platform Era,' featuring two keynote presentations and an expert panel discussion.

The first keynote speaker, Lee Jeongdong, Special Advisor for Economic Science to the Presidential Office, emphasized the roles of the government and companies for the success of innovative procurement policies under the theme 'The Government's Role as an Innovative Buyer in the Non-Face-to-Face Product and Service Sector.'

The second presenter was Kim Hyunjun, CEO of VUNO, a startup recognized for developing AI software in the bio-medical field, who explained 'Globalization and Platform Strategies of Innovative Service Startups' based on his company's business experience.

In the subsequent panel discussion, experts from industry, academia, research institutes, associations, and government engaged in a heated debate on the success factors of platform business strategies in the post-COVID-19 non-face-to-face economy and the government's role as an ecosystem creator supporting these strategies.

The event was conducted under strict quarantine measures and actively utilized non-face-to-face methods such as live streaming on YouTube.

Won Youngjun, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "The launch of a systematic and professional forum for technological innovation in SMEs is highly meaningful," and added, "We will continue to support it so that it can establish itself as the Ministry's representative policy think tank in the future."