Ministry of SMEs Opens 'Specialized Workplace for People with Developmental Disabilities' in Jinju, Gyeongnam

Supporting Economic Independence through Saessak-sam Smart Farm

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young) announced on the 6th that it has opened a 'Specialized Workplace for People with Developmental Disabilities' (hereinafter referred to as the workplace) in Jinju City, Gyeongnam. The project to establish and operate specialized workplaces for people with developmental disabilities has been providing entrepreneurship education, operational know-how, and experience since 2020 to support the economic independence of people with developmental disabilities and their families.

The workplace newly opened in Jinju City, Gyeongnam, was established as a smart farm cultivating young ginseng sprouts with a total project cost of 3.1 billion KRW, and is equipped with smart farm cubes, a shared workspace, a shared warehouse, and an education center.

The Jinju City workplace selects up to seven prospective entrepreneurs with developmental disabilities annually from Jinju City, who move into the childcare room with their families and complete a step-by-step entrepreneurship training program on cultivating young ginseng sprouts. Through actual cultivation and sales of approximately 1.6 million young ginseng sprouts annually, sales of around 300 million KRW are expected. The average growth period for one cycle of young ginseng sprout cultivation at the workplace is 24 days, and 12 cycles per year are possible.

To ensure smooth sales of the produced products, purchase contracts are signed with young ginseng seedling suppliers. Sales channels will also be supported through entry into public procurement markets (Nara Market and School Market), agricultural cooperative and forestry cooperative auction markets, local food stores, Jinju City online malls, and linkage with products from facilities producing goods by people with severe disabilities, through eco-friendly agricultural product cultivation.

The Hyundai Department Store Group donated 100 million KRW for the establishment of the Jinju City Specialized Workplace for People with Developmental Disabilities and is currently utilizing two smart farm cubes purchased with the donation. Lee Soon-bae, Director of the Small Business Policy Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We will do our best to ensure that people with disabilities are not excluded from entrepreneurship by expanding the establishment of workplaces," and added, "We will also provide sales channel support through the Disabled Entrepreneurs Comprehensive Support Center and the Small Enterprise and Market Service to ensure smooth sales of products produced at the workplace."