SMEs Ministry to Focus Support on Competitive SMEs and Small Business Owners Starting Next Year

Four Major Tasks: Fostering Vibrant Small Business Owners and Revitalizing Startups
10,000 Local Entrepreneurs to Be Identified Starting Next Year

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will shift its support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners next year to a “selection and concentration” approach, focusing on competitive targets. The plan is to concentrate investment on businesses and small business owners with growth potential, while strengthening support for those without such potential to help them recover and transform their business structures, thereby maximizing policy effectiveness.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups briefing held on the 17th at the Government Sejong Convention Center.

On the 17th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced its “2026 Work Report” at the Sejong Convention Center, outlining this new direction. The ministry identified “performance-oriented” policy as its main focus for next year. It aims to systematically classify growth types among SMEs and develop differentiated policies tailored to each type, while concentrating investment and R&D funding on companies with strong growth and potential. The ministry also plans to make bold investments in local ecosystems and to build a customized SME support platform utilizing artificial intelligence (AI).

Under this broad direction, the ministry has set four major tasks for next year: fostering vibrant small business owners, revitalizing startups and ventures, promoting innovation and growth in manufacturing SMEs, and creating a fair and mutually beneficial growth ecosystem.

First, starting next year, the ministry will foster growth-oriented small business owners by identifying 10,000 “local entrepreneurs” led by young people and nurturing 1,000 of them into “local creators” and other types of local entrepreneurs. The “Korea Grand Festival,” which was held this year as a joint inter-ministerial event, will be developed into a glocal event from next year to secure a solid revenue base.

Policies to help vulnerable small business owners overcome crises will also be strengthened. The government will continuously monitor 3 million small business owners with outstanding loans for signs of crisis, and if a crisis is detected, it will provide customized policy guidance based on AI. In addition, each vulnerable small business owner will receive a 250,000 won management stability voucher that can be used for electricity, water, and other utility bills.

To revitalize startups and ventures, the ministry will launch the “Startup for All Project,” selecting 100 startup rookies each year. The plan also includes recommending not only domestic but also foreign nationals with advanced technologies for special naturalization, thereby invigorating the domestic startup ecosystem.

In addition, the ministry will establish five regional startup cities by next year and ten by 2030, and to support this, will create a Regional Growth Fund totaling 3.5 trillion won by 2030. Efforts to discover “next-generation unicorns” will continue, including encouraging private venture investment and focusing up to 100 billion won in investment and guarantees on AI and deep-tech startups.

Ambitious plans were also presented for innovation among manufacturing SMEs. By 2030, the ministry will build 12,000 smart factories for small manufacturers and expand the “Jump-Up Program” to support 500 companies over three years with commercialization and R&D packages as they grow into mid-sized enterprises. The number of companies selected annually for the government’s flagship startup support program, TIPS, will be increased to 1,200. The government will also identify 180 export strategy items where domestic SMEs are strong, such as beauty products, by next year, and 500 by 2030, and will support their market entry and marketing efforts.

The ecosystem for mutual growth with large corporations will also be strengthened. The ministry will first introduce the “Korean-style discovery process” to eradicate technology theft from SMEs, and companies found to have engaged in technology theft will be excluded from government support programs such as public procurement bids. The “Shared Growth Index” evaluation, currently applied to large corporations and public institutions, will be expanded to financial companies and online platforms. The “Performance Sharing System” will also be expanded to cover 2.7 million companies, including platforms, distributors, and agencies.

Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, “While this year we achieved results in overcoming crises and recovery for SMEs and small business owners, from next year we must move toward growth. The ministry will do its utmost to restore the growth ladder for SMEs, ventures, and small business owners.”