Kim Hak-do, Chairman of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, Visits 84 Sites Over 2 Years

Listening to Challenges of Small and Medium Enterprises and Reflecting Them in Policy

Chairman Kim Hak-do is speaking at the policy meeting held on the afternoon of the 16th.

On the afternoon of the 16th, Kim Hak-do, Chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation (SBC), visited Daedong Marine Tech, a small and medium-sized enterprise manufacturing ship engines located in the Songpo Industrial Complex in Sacheon-si, Gyeongnam. The visit was to identify difficulties at the production site. Daedong Marine Tech aims to achieve complete localization of ship engine parts, which mostly rely on imports, through in-house technology development. This visit marked Chairman Kim’s 84th field visit since his inauguration.

According to SBC, Chairman Kim, who marked his 2nd anniversary on the 19th, has visited 84 sites over two years to listen to the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises and reflect them in policies. Since his inauguration, Chairman Kim has consistently emphasized that SBC should focus on frontline sites to support companies struggling due to COVID-19 and other difficulties. To put this into practice, he has maintained a schedule of visiting sites almost every week.

This is why the voices from the field have been reflected in SBC’s proactive support for companies facing the COVID-19 crisis. First, SBC implemented preemptive special maturity extensions and repayment deferrals on loan balances for companies experiencing management difficulties. Liquidity equivalent to 1.0487 trillion KRW and 143.7 billion KRW was supplied respectively. Seventy percent of the supported companies said that the special maturity extension measures helped secure liquidity.

Management stabilization funds were provided as targeted support for management difficulties according to crisis situations, amounting to 1.3 trillion KRW in 2020 and 800 billion KRW last year. Additionally, crisis response and job-centered policy funds helped maintain and create 4,189 jobs. To resolve financial difficulties for companies transitioning to new business areas, the business conversion fund was expanded by 150% this year.

Chairman Kim said, "Based on nationwide field organizations, I was able to hear the voices from the field directly while promoting various support projects. I will strive to utilize SBC’s strengths so that promising small and medium enterprises become the main players in the economic transformation."