Jubong Park, SME Ombudsman, Meeting with Overseas Expansion Companies in Daejeon and Chungnam Regions
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] To alleviate the burden on export companies, the support limit for the 'International Transportation Service' under the Export Voucher Project, which provides support for international shipping costs, transportation insurance fees, etc., has been raised from a maximum of 10 million KRW to 20 million KRW per company since last month.
The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman announced this on the 6th at the 'Regulatory Improvement Meeting for Overseas Market Entry (Hope) Companies in the Daejeon and Chungnam Regions,' held in the conference room of the KOTRA Academy Daejeon Branch, together with KOTRA.
At the meeting, co-hosted with the KOTRA Daejeon Chungnam Support Group, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Daejeon Sejong Regional Small and Medium Venture Business Administration, Korea International Trade Association, and eight export companies from the Daejeon and Chungnam regions attended to discuss obstacles in export sites and improvement measures.
During the meeting, many companies voiced difficulties related to logistics, such as the sharp rise in sea and air freight rates and the shortage of shipping space that have continued since the second half of last year.
S Company, which manufactures and exports exercise equipment, complained, "Compared to before COVID-19, freight costs have risen significantly, causing a heavy burden, and because our volume is relatively small compared to large companies, we are having difficulty securing sea transportation slots."
In response, Kim Myung-hee, head of the KOTRA Daejeon Chungnam Support Group, introduced, "To ease the burden on companies, from June this year, the support limit for the 'International Transportation Service' under the Export Voucher Project, which supports international shipping costs and transportation insurance fees, has been raised from a maximum of 10 million KRW to 20 million KRW per company."
Kim Yong-tae, head of the Korea International Trade Association Daejeon Sejong Chungnam Regional Headquarters, said, "To support our companies struggling with export-import logistics disruptions, we have been implementing on-site consulting services since May, where professional consultants visit companies directly to propose optimized logistics cost reduction plans," adding, "We have established special logistics loans and are supporting sea and air transportation for small and medium export companies in cooperation with logistics companies and large corporations such as SM Line and POSCO, so please actively utilize these resources."
In addition, various difficulties were raised, including △increasing the tariff refund rate for lithium primary batteries, △allowing ozone (O3) for disinfection methods to prevent infectious diseases, △including pyrolysis emulsification facilities in recycling facilities, and △easing approval procedures when changing contact lens designs.
Park Joo-bong, Deputy Minister-level Small and Medium Business Ombudsman, visited the production site of Eugene Teco Co., Ltd. located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, in the morning before the meeting to listen to regulations and difficulties faced by local small and medium enterprises, and in the afternoon, visited Rainbow Robotics Co., Ltd., a robot manufacturing company in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, to inspect the manufacturing and export site of collaborative robots.
Ombudsman Park said, "The government is also striving hard to help small and medium enterprises struggling due to COVID-19," and added, "We will continuously consult to ensure that the voices heard today on-site are conveyed to the government and related agencies so that practical support measures that truly help companies can be prepared."
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