Ministry of SMEs and Startups Collaborates with Academia and Industry to Strengthen Small Business Competitiveness

Small Business and Self-Employed Policy Forum Held

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young) announced on the 27th that it held a policy forum to strengthen the competitiveness of small business owners and self-employed workers at the Centropolis Conference Room located in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

This forum was organized to listen to expert opinions on the digital transformation of small business owners and the enhancement of distribution and logistics competitiveness, and to seek future response directions. The first presenter, Professor Choi Kyu-wan of Kyung Hee University, diagnosed that the level of digital transformation among small business owners is low through his presentation titled "Digital Transformation and Policy Tasks for Small Business Owners," and suggested four strategies for digital transformation to improve management efficiency: "manufacturing and production efficiency," "operational efficiency," "marketing and sales efficiency," and "building digital transformation infrastructure."

The second presenter, Professor Han Sang-rin of Hanyang University, stated in his presentation "Policy Directions to Strengthen Distribution and Logistics Competitiveness of Small Business Owners" that traditional offline distribution is stagnating due to the spread of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the rapid growth of online and mobile distribution. Professor Han also emphasized the importance of introducing systematic marketing concepts for small business owners in response to changing consumer trends and providing differentiated customer experiences. In the panel discussion, chaired by Professor Lee Jung-hee of Chung-Ang University, Senior Researcher Nam Yoon-hyung of the Korea Institute for Startup & Entrepreneurship Development stressed the importance of information accumulation and utilization for the successful digital transformation of small business owners.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to review the tasks proposed through the forum and reflect them in future policy directions.