Economic Boost to Local Communities with the 'Legend 50+' Project

Ministry of SMEs, Daegu City, and Ulsan City Join Forces for Regional SME Growth Model

On the 20th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a regional meeting to review the progress of the 'Legend 50+' project and enhance its outcomes, chaired by Vice Minister O Gi-ung at the Ulsan Technopark Automotive Parts Technology Research Institute.

'Legend 50+' is a regional SME growth model where local governments proactively plan projects aligned with strategies such as key regional industries, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups supports these projects with a package of core policy tools highly demanded by companies over three years.

Selection of participating companies for 21 region-specific projects proposed by 17 metropolitan local governments was completed by the end of February, and beneficiary companies for support projects will be finalized between March and April, after which full-scale project support will begin in April.

The meeting proceeded with presentations on the 'Legend 50+' project promotion plans by Daegu Metropolitan City and Ulsan Metropolitan City, sharing of development plans, and on-site visits.

Vice Minister O Gi-ung stated, “We will strive to ensure that projects planned and led by the regions operate successfully on the ground and that the Legend 50+ policy establishes itself as a representative growth model for regional SMEs in the Republic of Korea,” adding, “In the first year of the project, 2024, we will support approximately 280 billion KRW through seven policy tools including policy funds, and invest a total of 840 billion KRW over three years until 2026 to help the 21 projects achieve their original goals and bring a positive breeze to the regional economy without sparing any support.”