SME Central Association "Up to 2 Million KRW Monthly Labor Cost Support for SME Cooperatives"

Recruitment of Cooperatives for Professional Workforce Support Project
9.4 Billion KRW Budget from Ministry of SMEs and Startups... Support for 45 People

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, is delivering a welcoming speech at the 'Small Business Owners Meeting' held at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz) will implement a program that supports up to 2 million KRW per person per month when hiring professional personnel for small and medium enterprise (SME) cooperatives.

On the 24th, Kbiz announced that it is recruiting cooperatives to participate in the "SME Cooperative Professional Personnel Support Project."

Established this year, this project provides wage support when SME cooperatives newly hire professional personnel to promote joint projects. It is the first personnel support project for SME cooperatives carried out with budget support from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

The eligible recipients are cooperative federations and cooperatives whose business area covers the entire country under the SME Cooperative Act. Selected cooperatives can hire up to two personnel, with support covering up to 70% of monthly wages, capped at 2 million KRW per person.

Kbiz plans to invest a total budget of 940 million KRW this year to support 45 professional personnel for joint projects in cooperatives.

The hired professionals will complete training courses provided by Kbiz on SME cooperative management and joint project strategy development, and then perform roles such as planning, execution, performance management, and network building of joint projects.

Cho Jin-hyung, head of the Cooperative Division at Kbiz, said, "Many cooperatives with excellent business models have faced difficulties in promoting joint projects due to a lack of personnel. This project will serve as a much-needed relief for cooperatives." Applications for participation can be submitted on the SME Cooperative portal from the 1st to the 10th of next month.