Small and Medium Business Conference Again in Yongsan This Year... "Support for Global Expansion" (Comprehensive)

2024 Korea Small Business Entrepreneurs Conference Held
Government, Large Corporations, and Overseas Korean Businesses as 'One Team'
Supporting Globalization of Small Businesses

The 35th edition of the largest festival in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, the 'SME Entrepreneurs Convention,' was held for the third consecutive year on the lawn of the Yongsan Presidential Office. This event was organized to encourage SME and venture entrepreneurs who are key players in expanding exports and creating jobs. The government expressed its commitment to supporting the global expansion of SMEs through public-private cooperation under the 'Global One Team' initiative, alongside awarding meritorious contributors.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs held the 2024 Korea SME Entrepreneurs Convention on the 23rd at the lawn in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office under the slogan "With SMEs to the World! To the Future!" Since the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the SME Entrepreneurs Convention has been held three times consecutively at the Presidential Office lawn. This signifies the start of continuous communication with SMEs and the formation of a public-private one team to support the globalization of SMEs.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is applauding at the '2024 Korea Small and Medium Business Conference' held on the lawn of the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 23rd. (Photo by Yonhap News)

The SME Entrepreneurs Convention was attended by over 500 people from across the country, including President Yoon Seok-yeol, ministers from 11 government departments, six major conglomerate heads such as Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong, related SME organizations, and export SMEs. Notably, in line with the theme of 'SME Globalization,' for the first time at the convention, ambassadors from 12 countries with active trade and foreign workforce exchanges with Korean SMEs attended to engage with export SMEs.

President Yoon, the ministers of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, heads of large corporations, overseas Korean community organizations, and SME entrepreneurs jointly performed a 'Global One Team' ship launching ceremony, reaffirming their commitment to actively support the global expansion of SMEs as a united public-private team.

As a side event, a K-food line featuring products produced by SMEs that have gained tremendous popularity overseas was set up, allowing attendees to sample frozen gimbap, tteokbokki, and gim snacks. A self-service instant photo studio, popular among domestic and international MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), was also installed, providing participants with a K-culture experience corner where they could take photos themselves.

A total of 92 government awards were presented to SMEs, workers, and outstanding organizations that contributed to export expansion and the creation of quality jobs. The prestigious Gold Tower Industrial Order of Merit was awarded to Choi Geum-sik, CEO of Sunbo Industrial, and Kim Jeong-hee, CEO of HNS Hightech.

CEO Choi was recognized for introducing the world's first ship module unit concept, contributing to revolutionary productivity improvements in the shipbuilding industry through process simplification. He also secured competitiveness in the LNG gas fuel supply system sector, contributing to industrial development. His contributions to supporting educationally disadvantaged groups domestically and abroad, including establishing schools in impoverished countries and promoting scholarship programs for low-income groups in Korea, were also acknowledged.

HNS Hightech is the number one domestic and third-largest global company in the anisotropic conductive film (ACF) display industry. Through continuous research and development and facility expansion, the company has worked on the localization of materials, parts, and equipment businesses and the development of overseas markets. CEO Kim has also been active in donation activities for socially vulnerable groups such as families with disabilities.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is participating in the 'Global One Team Departure Ceremony' performance with attendees at the '2024 Korea Small and Medium Business Conference' held on the lawn of the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul on the 23rd. From the left: Kim Jeong-hee, CEO of HNS Hightech; Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups; Park Jin-soo, CEO of Colosseum Corporation; President Yoon; Lee Ha-na, CEO of Melixer; Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs; Cho Tae-yeol, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG.
(Photo by Yonhap News)

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We are establishing a support system that links and collaborates domestic and international support organizations to assist the global expansion of SMEs and startups," adding, "We will provide customized solutions to various difficulties faced by SMEs and startups during their global expansion process."

Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, emphasized in his opening remarks that overseas diplomatic missions should serve as export forward bases for SMEs, and that large corporations and overseas Korean businesspeople should support SMEs' overseas expansion based on local networks and infrastructure. Chairman Kim said, "The public and private sectors must become one team to support SMEs' overseas expansion, and SMEs must also transform into specialized companies competing in the global market beyond domestic demand."

Chairman Kim also proposed to President Yoon Seok-yeol that since regulatory innovation is the best way to revive the economy without costing the government a single won, the president should visit the Korea Federation of SMEs to hold a grand discussion on SME regulatory innovation. He urged the 22nd National Assembly, starting on the 30th, to first address the supplementation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which concerns SMEs and small business owners, and to implement flexible working hours suited to business conditions.