Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Q1 Focus Tasks: 'Alleviating Small Business Burdens and Revitalizing Domestic Demand' 추진

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups Policy Direction Briefing on the 11th
Reduce Electricity Bills and Taxes, Expand Reasons for Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid
SMEs Focus on Strengthening Global Competitiveness

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will focus on the task of ‘alleviating the burden on small business owners and revitalizing domestic demand’ in the first quarter of this year. To support small business owners facing management difficulties, the ministry plans to reduce electricity bills, interest costs, and taxes, and expand the reasons for payouts from the Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid to strengthen the safety net. For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), it plans to expand the export voucher budget and broaden the stage to the global market.

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is explaining the main policies of the ministry at the 2024 Policy Direction Briefing held on the 11th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

On the 11th, Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated at the ‘Ministry of SMEs and Startups Policy Direction Briefing’ held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, “The most important task to be pursued in the first quarter of this year is to resolve the management difficulties of small business owners and restore economic vitality.”

Accordingly, the ministry will support electricity bills up to 200,000 KRW per business for micro small business owners with sales under 30 million KRW during the first quarter. For small business owners struggling with high interest rates above 7%, loans up to 50 million KRW will be converted to loans with a 4.5% interest rate and 10-year installment repayment. For those using loans from secondary financial institutions with interest rates of 5-7%, interest costs will be reimbursed up to 1.5 million KRW.

Employment insurance premiums, which supported up to 50% for 25,000 people last year, will be expanded to support up to 80% for 40,000 people this year. The reasons for payouts from the Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid will be expanded to include natural disasters, social disasters, illness/injury, rehabilitation/bankruptcy, further strengthening the safety net.

To recover domestic demand, the number of Onnuri gift certificate affiliated stores and the issuance scale will increase by 50,000 stores and 1 trillion KRW respectively compared to the previous year. Minister Oh explained, “We will consider innovative ways to make Onnuri gift certificates easier and more convenient to use to attract younger consumers to traditional markets.”

More than 1,000 ‘entrepreneurial small business owners’ with innovative capabilities will be nurtured. To this end, the ministry plans to promote the enactment of the ‘Entrepreneurial Small Business Owner Development Act’ in the second half of the year.

SMEs will focus on strengthening global capabilities. In particular, the export voucher budget, which is in high demand among export SMEs, will be increased by 10 billion KRW compared to the previous year. To support overseas expansion, the Global Business Center (GBC), which provides office space, networking, and collaboration services, will open a new location in Indonesia in the second half of this year. The budget for overseas exhibitions will also be intensively invested with two-thirds of the support budget in the first half of the year. Additionally, to keep pace with global environmental changes such as carbon neutrality, a new support project for the European Union (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment (CBA) infrastructure will be established, and the installation of a dedicated organization within the ministry is under consideration.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is explaining the main policies of the Ministry at the 2024 Policy Direction Briefing held on the 11th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Regulations will also be revised to promote startups’ overseas expansion. Support grounds for overseas corporations founded by Koreans will be established, and a new ‘Global TIPS’ program will be created to support the establishment of local corporations after attracting overseas investment. Improvements to the startup and employment visa system will be pursued so that outstanding overseas talents can start businesses and grow in Korea.

Minister Oh said, “Since my inauguration, having visited many companies including grassroots companies, women-owned businesses, and startups, the common feeling is that our companies have a very strong will to expand globally,” adding, “We will announce a strategy to diversify export markets and export items within the first quarter.”

In addition, regulatory reforms and organizational restructuring will be carried out. Minister Oh stated, “We will work with related ministries to identify and improve regulations so that SMEs can go beyond the domestic market and thrive on the global stage,” and “We will also promote organizational restructuring dedicated to regulatory reform.”

Meanwhile, when asked by reporters after the briefing what kind of minister she wants to be, Minister Oh replied, “I want to be a minister who delivers results with sincerity.”