Ministry of SMEs and Startups Sets Next Year's Budget at 16.5 Trillion Won... SME R&D Funding Reaches All-Time High

R&D Budget Significantly Increased from 1.5 Trillion to 2.2 Trillion Won
Mother Fund and Smart Factory Budgets Expanded
Enhanced Support for Small Business Recovery and Exports
New Budget Allocated for K-Beauty Cluster Development

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups' budget for 2026 has been finalized at 16.5233 trillion won, an 8.4% increase from this year's main budget. Notably, investment in research and development (R&D) for small and medium-sized enterprises, which had been significantly reduced under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, has not only been restored but substantially expanded in next year's budget.

The Ministry announced on December 3 that the total expenditure for the 2026 budget and fund operation plan was approved and finalized at the National Assembly plenary session the previous day. The Ministry stated, "While focusing on the recovery and self-sufficiency of small business owners, we will also support the global advancement and innovative growth of SMEs, ventures, and startups, which are the future growth engines of our economy."

First, the budget for the Mother Fund has been set at 820 billion won, an increase of 320 billion won compared to this year's main budget. This is about 300 billion won less than the original government proposal of 1.1 trillion won. The Ministry plans to promote a virtuous cycle in the venture investment ecosystem by focusing on the Next Unicorn Project, regional and exit market revitalization, and the Re-challenge Fund.

To help promising tech startups grow into unicorns with global competitiveness, a new Unicorn Bridge project with a budget of 32 billion won will be launched. The budget for the Super Gap Startup 1000+ project, which supports innovative growth and global market entry for startups in new industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology, has also been increased.

The R&D budget for scaling up SMEs has been significantly raised from 1.517 trillion won to 2.1959 trillion won this year, marking the largest R&D budget to date. The Ministry plans to focus investment on profitable R&D. The budget for the distribution of smart factories has also been set at 402.1 billion won, an increase of 160 billion won.

The budget for the Jump-up program, which systematically supports capable SMEs throughout the entire cycle to help them grow into global mid-sized companies, has nearly doubled from 29.9 billion won this year to 57.8 billion won.

To diversify export markets for K-beauty and strategic products, a comprehensive support system for export-oriented SMEs will be expanded, including product experience centers and buyer consultation events. A new budget of 3 billion won has been allocated to foster K-beauty clusters, and 19.8 billion won will be invested in the export consortium project, an increase of 3.9 billion won.

Efforts will also focus on establishing a foundation for small business owners to achieve self-sustaining growth beyond recovery. The Small Business Management Stability Voucher program, aimed at easing the management burden for micro-enterprises, will continue with a budget of 579 billion won.

The budget for the Hope Return Package, which offers one-stop support for reemployment and restarting businesses, has been expanded from 245 billion won to 305.6 billion won. In particular, support for store demolition costs for small business owners hesitant to start anew due to the financial burden of closure will be increased to a maximum of 6 million won.

Meanwhile, the budget for Onnuri Gift Certificates has been set at 450.8 billion won, an increase of 67.3 billion won from this year, to revitalize traditional markets and local commercial districts. The Ministry will systematically foster local commercial areas, from small neighborhood business districts to regional flagship districts and globally competitive glocal districts, through the "Local Commercial Renaissance 2.0" initiative.

The budget for establishing a win-win growth ecosystem between large and small-to-medium enterprises has also been increased. Support for technology protection will be strengthened to eradicate technology theft from SMEs, and assistance for SMEs that have suffered from technology infringement will be expanded.

The budget for the Global Corporate Collaboration Program has been set at 60 billion won, an increase of 7 billion won. The budget for the public-private open innovation project, which promotes collaboration between large corporations, public institutions, mid-sized companies, and innovative startups to support startup growth, has also been increased.

Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "We will promptly establish detailed business plans and announcements within the year to ensure that policy support for the rapid recovery and innovative growth of small business owners, as well as the future advancement of SMEs, ventures, and startups, is implemented thoroughly. We will execute the 2026 budget swiftly and without delay."