[Reporter’s Notebook] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 'Sales Diplomacy' Falls Short of a Perfect Score

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held an export consultation meeting for our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the 29th of last month at the L7 Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. At the consultation, 80 domestic SMEs introduced their products to 80 local buyers from six Southeast Asian countries. The ministry announced a "successful event press release," stating that export consultations worth $12.88 million (approximately 17.1 billion KRW) took place.

However, there were some disappointments on site. First, despite it being a meeting with overseas buyers, no interpretation support was provided. One cosmetics company placed a mobile phone on the consultation table and held a video call with a remotely arranged interpreter to communicate with the local buyer. The company’s representative explained, "Until the morning of the consultation day, we did not receive an answer from the ministry regarding interpretation support," adding, "In the end, we had to urgently contact an interpreter we knew in Ho Chi Minh City, not Hanoi, where the event was held." There were also criticisms about the lack of local companies to connect with our SMEs. Another cosmetics company representative expressed regret, saying, "We could not properly explain our products due to insufficient detailed information about the buyers," and added, "There are large buyers with significant purchasing power, but we were not connected to them."

This consultation meeting was the first time the ministry held the 'Donghaeng Festival,' an annual promotional event for small and micro enterprises, overseas. Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups visited Singapore and Vietnam from the 26th to the 29th of last month to support the entry of domestic SMEs, startups, and micro enterprises into Southeast Asia, and the consultation meeting was an important event she personally oversaw.

Minister Oh managed her schedule down to the minute throughout the trip to both countries and earnestly sought cooperation from the governments of the visited countries. At the first Korea-Vietnam SME Committee meeting on the 28th of last month, attended by the Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment, she suddenly raised her hand just as the scheduled time was nearly over. About 120 officials, businesspeople, and journalists from both countries in the meeting room looked at Minister Oh. She slightly bowed her head and asked, "Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, could you please spare a moment to allow Korean innovative companies to introduce themselves?" Originally, Korean innovative companies were supposed to present directly to the Minister of Planning and Investment, but the presentation was omitted as the meeting ran long. This was a crucial opportunity lost for SMEs aiming to enter Vietnam. Minister Oh did not miss this moment and sought understanding.

The ministry stated that as a result of these efforts, they successfully attracted 378 billion KRW in investment in Singapore, and the Vietnam export consultation meeting was also held successfully. In particular, Minister Oh, who previously served as an ambassador to Vietnam, leveraged her diplomatic network to directly persuade the Vietnamese government.

It is commendable that she utilized her expertise as a former diplomat to actively support SMEs overseas. However, considering the shortcomings of the Hanoi export consultation meeting, it seems difficult to give a "perfect score" to this Singapore-Vietnam trip. Minister Oh is said to have a strong will to continue promoting overseas expansion events for SMEs like this one. She puts forward the slogan "Wumunhyeondap" (Our problems have answers on site). The achievements of companies are ultimately decided on the ground. Going forward, we look forward to SME policies that achieve a "perfect score" by enhancing even the smallest details on site.