Yoon Seok-geun, Chairman of Ilseong IS, Appointed as New Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry SME Committee

Committee Meeting Held at Sangui Hall on the 10th
Chairman Yoon Seok-geun Appointed During the Meeting
"Small and Medium Enterprises Are the Backbone of Our Economy
We Will Actively Promote Communication Between Government and Businesses"

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry appointed Yoon Seok-geun, Chairman of Ilsung IS, as the new chairman of the Small and Medium Business Committee at the committee meeting held at the Chamber of Commerce building on the 10th.

Yoon Seok-geun, Chairman of the SME Committee at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Photo by Asia Economy DB

In his inaugural speech, Chairman Yoon emphasized, "Small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for more than 90% of all companies, are the foundation of our economy and play a key role in regional economies and job creation. Recently, the domestic and international economic environment demands significant challenges and changes from SMEs. To achieve sustainable and innovative growth amid these changes, swift government response and systematic support are essential."

He continued, "As the Small and Medium Business Committee is completely reorganized and newly launched, we will establish and operate sector-specific subcommittees to facilitate active exchanges among members. Through this, we will efficiently gather industry opinions and actively engage in communication between the government and businesses to ensure that the voices from the SME field are reflected in policies," expressing his aspirations.

In addition to Chairman Yoon, the committee newly appointed the following as vice chairpersons: Ko Eun-hee, CEO of Introman; Park Jae-hyun, CEO of Taewon Construction Industry; Baek Seung-han, CEO of Classys; Eshanov Bakhtiyar, CEO of UzAuto Korea; Lee Ui-hyun, CEO of Da-il Special Steel; and Lee Jae-heung, CEO of Eco Valley.

A representative of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry explained, "To strengthen the role as a channel for resolving difficulties and challenges in regional economies, this year we expanded and reorganized the committee from being centered in Seoul to a nationwide scale including Busan and Daegu. In particular, considering industry types and sizes, we replaced 70% of the entire members with new appointees."

On the same day, the committee also held a roundtable discussion on the theme of 'Recent Economic Conditions and SME Response Directions.' The discussion was conducted to provide an opportunity to listen to the government's explanation on supporting SME growth amid worsening domestic and international conditions such as prolonged domestic demand slump and increased global economic uncertainty, and to communicate with SME leaders. About 40 CEOs of small and medium enterprises attended.

Kim Sung-seop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated in his lecture, "Our SMEs face internal threats such as regional disparities and declining working population, as well as external threats including deglobalization, digital transformation, and carbon neutrality, making it urgent to devise countermeasures. We will actively support SMEs to take the lead in proactive responses to future changes and become the core of dynamic economic growth."

Park Il-jun, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "Our SMEs are currently facing numerous challenges such as domestic and international political instability, domestic economic downturn, high inflation, and high exchange rates. Despite these uncertainties, we ask the government to provide unwavering support so that SMEs, which uphold one pillar of our economy, can achieve continuous growth."