Korea Federation of SMEs Discusses Global Market Entry of SMEs and the Role of Cooperatives

Policy Research Forum on SME Cooperatives Held
Discussions on Global Market Entry Strategies and the Role of Cooperatives

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on May 16 that it held a policy research forum under the theme of "Global Market Entry of SMEs and the Role of SME Cooperatives" at the Innovation Room of the Korea Federation of SMEs.

This forum was organized to gather diverse opinions on the global expansion of SMEs through cooperatives and to discuss policy directions and implementation measures related to the globalization of SME cooperatives.

During the forum, following a keynote presentation by Professor Oh Dongyun of Dong-A University, there was a discussion on field opinions from cooperatives and implementation strategies for the globalization of SME cooperatives by experts. In his presentation, Professor Oh stated, "It is urgent for domestic SMEs to establish global strategies in consideration of strengthened protectionism and the restructuring of the global value chain (GVC)." He also emphasized, "Cooperatives should serve as the foundation for building a K-value chain that is linked by function?such as R&D, design, manufacturing, and distribution?and through collaboration among function-specific cooperatives, SMEs should enter global markets and enhance production efficiency."

In the subsequent discussion, participants included Professor Jang Seungkwon of Sungkonghoe University, Song Youngcheol, Research Fellow at Gyeonggi Research Institute, Kim Hyunseok, Executive Director of the Korea Furniture Industry Cooperative Federation, Ahn Byungcheol, Managing Director of the Korea Medical Devices Cooperative, Nam Gyucheol, Director General of the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative, and Bae Hoyoung, Research Fellow at the SME Cooperative Research Institute. They discussed policy directions and implementation measures for the globalization of SME cooperatives.

Yoon Wisang, Director of the SME Cooperative Research Institute and host of the forum, stated, "Cooperatives can play a significant role in the globalization of SMEs, including global collaboration, responding to global supply chains, and participating in Official Development Assistance (ODA)." He added, "I hope that the discussions from this forum will be utilized as action plans for the 4th SME Cooperative Revitalization Plan, which begins this year."