Korea Federation of SMEs Opens Applications for 'Competitive Products Among Small Business Owners'

Support for SMEs to Overcome COVID-19 and Expand Market Access Through Public Procurement Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KSMB) announced on the 1st that it will accept applications for the "Competitive Products Among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)" to be applied from next year for about two months.

According to the Federation, competitive products among SMEs must be subject to restricted competition exclusively for SMEs when bidding on relevant items by public institutions. Large corporations or foreign companies are not allowed to participate.

The eligibility criteria for products are ▲annual purchase performance by public institutions of 2 billion KRW ▲at least 20 domestically directly producing SMEs, and for detailed item criteria ▲annual public purchase performance of 1 billion KRW ▲at least 10 domestically directly producing SMEs.

When newly designated as a competitive product among SMEs, it will be applied for three years from the date of designation until December 31, 2024. Existing designated products will expire at the end of this year.

The application period is until April 30. Meanwhile, the KSMB will hold an explanatory session regarding the application for competitive products among SMEs in March. The schedule for the session will be announced through the Public Procurement Information Network for SME Products.

Jojin-hyung, Head of the Cooperative Division at KSMB, said, "It is necessary to expand support through the public procurement market for SMEs facing survival crises due to COVID-19," adding, "We will respond to the rapidly changing industrial environment and faithfully pursue the purpose of fostering small manufacturing industries by designating various new items in addition to existing products."