The Gwangju Employers Federation announced on May 20 that the fifth item among the top ten presidential election pledges should be the expansion of purchases of products under joint brands by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and that this area should be included as a presidential election pledge.
The Gwangju Joint Brand is a project strategically promoted by Gwangju City to respond to the partial overseas relocation of large corporations' home appliance production lines. The project aims to transform the dependency-based home appliance industry ecosystem into a finished product manufacturing system, seek new opportunities for the local home appliance industry, raise brand awareness for local companies, and support product sales and marketing.
Since its launch in 2016, companies selected for the project have been allowed to use the Gwangju Joint Brand. They receive a variety of support, including customized marketing and product promotion, participation in domestic and international exhibitions, export consultation meetings, participation in live commerce and discount sales events. As a result, the project has received a positive response from local SMEs.
The Gwangju Joint Brand, GIEL, currently consists of 45 companies and features mainly lifestyle-oriented products such as air purifiers, ice makers, sterilization dryers, humidifiers, and scalp care devices, all produced by local companies in the home appliance and electrical/electronic sectors.
In 2022, the Gwangju Joint Brand recorded sales of 93.1 billion won and exports of 50 million dollars, driving the growth of local companies. Through participation in world-renowned exhibitions such as IFA in Germany and CES in the United States, a local company, Company A, achieved export contracts and investment worth 10 million dollars. In 2024, by operating a joint booth for Gwangju Joint Brand companies at the IFA Berlin exhibition, a total of 1.2 million euros in export memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed.
Currently, the Gwangju Joint Brand aims to overcome the limitations of market entry with local companies' own brands and to promote joint brand marketing for finished products under Gwangju companies' brands. The project seeks to overcome the limitations of the local home appliance industry and create an innovative home appliance industry environment where excellent local SMEs can collaborate to research, develop, and produce competitive products.
A representative of the Gwangju Employers Federation stated, "Although Gwangju City is providing significant interest and support to companies under the Gwangju Joint Brand, there are many difficulties in domestic and international marketing and after-sales service at the level of large corporations. There are also limitations in mass production, so many believe that substantial support from the government is necessary. However, our local home appliance specialist, Company B, last year produced and launched a kimchi refrigerator PB product using its own technology, and since it can provide after-sales service for its self-developed excellent products, customers have no difficulty in purchasing. On the other hand, some companies under the Gwangju Joint Brand are unable to do so, and thus, significant government support is needed for them to grow into outstanding SMEs."
The representative added, "Next year marks the tenth anniversary of the Gwangju Joint Brand project. Although local SMEs in Gwangju produce high-quality products comparable to those of large corporations, they are struggling to expand sales channels due to low brand awareness. Therefore, Gwangju City should institutionalize the preferential purchase of local products by public institutions such as schools, and at the government level, continuous support should be provided to promote mutual growth between construction companies and SMEs and to revitalize the local economy by actively supporting participation in domestic and international exhibitions and prioritizing the purchase of local products."
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