"John Lee Also Donates Talent"... Ministry of SMEs Expands Online Education for Small Business Owners

John Lee, CEO of Meritz Asset Management, will participate as a volunteer in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Online Real-Time Education for Small Business Owners" on the 10th.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 9th that it will expand the 'Online Real-Time Education for Small Business Owners,' which was piloted last year.

The Online Real-Time Education for Small Business Owners is a program that regularly offers various educational courses for small business owners every week in a non-face-to-face format. It utilizes the online education platform for supporting the continuous learning of small business owners, called the 'Small Business Knowledge Learning Center.'

Previously, education for small business owners was mainly conducted through face-to-face and group sessions. However, according to the Ministry, due to COVID-19 last year, education was frequently interrupted or delayed and could not operate normally.

Therefore, from the second half of last year, the Ministry improved the existing face-to-face education method by recording non-face-to-face lectures and broadcasting real-time lectures through the Small Business Knowledge Learning Center and YouTube channels.

Starting this year, the Ministry plans to expand and reorganize the curriculum to revitalize online education for small business owners. First, the existing courses will be subdivided according to the industry, target audience, and level to meet the demands of small business owners. The number of existing education channels will also be more than doubled from six.

Among the requested lecture topics submitted to the Small Business Knowledge Learning Center, those with a high number of recommendations will be reflected in the establishment of new courses. Around the comprehensive income tax filing period in May, focused education on tax knowledge and know-how that small business owners need to know will be intensively scheduled during March and April.

There will also be special lectures by invited experts. On the 10th, John Lee, CEO of Meritz Asset Management and known as a pioneer of the 'Donghak Ant Movement,' will participate as a talent donor. CEO John Lee will introduce asset management strategies for small business owners.

The Ministry plans to expand the bases for broadcasting real-time education to digital education centers located outside Seoul in the future. A hybrid real-time education combining online and offline formats will also be introduced. This method combines offline education with invited experts, which is difficult to access in local areas, alongside online sessions.