Minister Oh Young-joo Holds 'Practical Policy Council' with Small Business Owners in Chungcheong Region

Chungbuk Cheongju Selected as Host City for the 2025 National Excellent Market Expo
Relay Policy Council Held to Hear Voices of Small Business Owners in the Chungcheong Region
Focus on Retail and Wholesale Sector Amid Changing Consumption Patterns
Policy Suggestions Include AI-Based Support and Joint Logistics Warehouses
Minister Oh Young-joo: “Field Opinions to Be Actively Reflected in Policies”

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 27th that it held the 'Policy Council for Practical Solutions for Small Business Owners' at Raikontown Asan Branch in Chungnam. This is the 15th policy council following last year. Attendees included presidents of the regional branches of the Small Business Federation from Chungbuk, Chungnam, Daejeon, and Sejong, heads of local branches, local government officials from the respective regions, and heads of industry organizations related to retail and wholesale small business owners.

This event was organized to meet small business owners in the Chungcheong region in a relay format, following the second policy council held in February for branch presidents of the Small Business Federation in the metropolitan and Gangwon areas, in order to hear more detailed voices from the field regarding regional difficulties.

In particular, this policy council focused on the retail and wholesale industry, which forms the foundation of small business owners. The retail and wholesale sector is an industry where traditional industrial structures are being dismantled due to recent changes in consumer consumption patterns and the expansion of the platform economy.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is delivering a greeting at the '3rd Policy Council for Practical Answers from Small Business Owners' held on the 27th at Raikontown in Asan, Chungnam. Photo by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

As the first order of business at the policy council, Senior Research Fellow Lee Jin-guk from KDI presented on the 'Current Status and Response Directions of Retail and Wholesale Small Business Owners.' The main topics included the scale, distribution, and changes in sales and operating profits of retail and wholesale small business owners, as well as the recent growth of online shopping, entry of online companies through overseas direct purchases, and response directions in line with digital transformation.

Small business federation branch presidents and others in attendance proposed various policy suggestions such as reducing guarantee fees at credit guarantee foundations, establishing joint logistics warehouses, and AI-based management support for small business owners. These suggestions will be actively reflected in the policy implementation process after internal review and consultation with relevant ministries.

Minister Oh Young-joo, who presided over the policy council, stated, “Today, we listened to the difficulties related to the retail and wholesale sector, which accounts for the largest proportion in both the number of enterprises and employees among small business owners in the Chungcheong region,” adding, “Through the relay-style policy councils by region in the first half of this year, we will make every effort to ensure that the deeper field opinions of small business owners are actively reflected in policies.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that Cheongju City in Chungbuk was selected as the host city for the 2025 National Excellent Market Expo, the largest domestic event involving traditional markets and shopping districts nationwide. Minister Oh said, “This year marks the 21st National Excellent Market Expo, which the ministry will prepare in collaboration with Chungcheongbuk-do, Cheongju City, and the National Merchants Federation. We will continue to do our best to create more vibrant traditional markets with a spirit of finding answers from the field.”