The 3rd 'Small Business Owners' Wise Questions and Practical Answers Policy Council' Held
"This Year to Be the 'First Year of Small Business Rebound'"
Oh Young-joo, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, promised export support for small manufacturers and opportunities for networking with youth.
Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups visited the Seoul Metropolitan Small Business Specialized Support Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 15th of last month and is viewing products produced by small business owners. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
On the 28th, Minister Oh announced policy directions at the 3rd 'Policy Council for Small Business Owners' held at the Small Manufacturer Specialized Support Center of Seoul Changsin Apparel Manufacturing in Jongno, Seoul.
Minister Oh stated, "This year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will designate as the 'Year of Small Manufacturer Rebound' by conducting the first-ever survey on small manufacturers to accurately diagnose and analyze their current status, and will comprehensively review existing policies for small manufacturers from the ground up. Based on this, we will promptly respond to urgent issues such as smartization and labor regulations, while preparing for future environmental changes to ensure solid competitiveness. We will reorganize support policies for small manufacturers and announce these measures within this year."
During the open discussion session, policies necessary for small manufacturers to swiftly respond to external environmental changes such as digital transformation and to take a step forward through overseas expansion were discussed. Small manufacturers attending the policy council requested support for overseas expansion of competitive small manufacturer products. Minister Oh empathized with the growing potential for overseas market development in the fashion and food sectors due to the influence of the Korean Wave. He responded, "We will support small manufacturers' exports both materially and spiritually through participation in overseas online shopping malls and exhibitions."
There was also a suggestion that connecting youth who wish to start businesses with small manufacturers as a method of business succession is necessary to continue enterprises. Regarding this, Minister Oh emphasized, "We will actively consider operating programs that provide networking opportunities between youth aspiring to start businesses and small manufacturers to transfer technology."
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has continuously expanded smart manufacturing support projects to address urgent issues faced by small manufacturers, operated various support projects such as creating clean manufacturing environments and vouchers for preventing major accidents, and held outreach briefing sessions related to the 'Serious Accidents Punishment Act.' In the mid to long term, the ministry supports small manufacturers in continuously growing and developing by pioneering domestic and overseas sales channels, and especially from this year, it has established a ‘Specialized Overseas Voucher’ to strengthen export support such as participation in overseas exhibitions and entry into overseas online shopping malls.
Along with this, in response to the aging of small manufacturer representatives, measures are being explored to provide business succession education and consulting to ensure that traditional high-level skills are not lost but continuously passed down, as well as support such as operating technology transfer experience programs.
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