[New Year's Address] Minister Han Sung-sook of SMEs and Startups: "We Must Move Beyond Recovery to Growth in the New Year"

Revitalizing Local Economies, Boosting Entrepreneurship,
Supporting Innovative Growth for SMEs,
and Creating an Ecosystem of Fairness and Mutual Growth

Han Sung-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, has presented the "Restoration of the Growth Ladder for SMEs, Startups, and Small Business Owners" as a core goal for the new year.

On December 31, Minister Han stated in her New Year's address, "2026 should be a year to move beyond recovery and toward growth." To achieve this, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to promote: ▲ revitalization of local economies ▲ activation of startups ▲ support for innovative growth of manufacturing SMEs ▲ creation of a fair and mutually beneficial ecosystem.

Hansung Sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups

First, in the area of small business owners, Minister Han said, "We will provide a 250,000 won management stability voucher to each of the 2.3 million micro-business owners, and we will establish a structure that connects the detection of crisis signals for small businesses, business closure, re-challenge, and re-employment into a single process so that they can try again."

She also emphasized, "To secure a sales base for small business owners, we will expand the Korea Grand Festival into a glocal event and foster youth- and commercial district-led, growth-oriented small businesses by discovering 10,000 local entrepreneurs annually."

Regarding the activation of startups, she said, "We will strengthen the incentive structure for private venture investment, including pension and retirement funds, and use the government’s 1.6 trillion won parent fund as a catalyst to usher in an era of 40 trillion won in annual venture investment. We will also reform the public procurement system for startups so that the government becomes the first purchaser for startups."

To this end, the ministry plans to discover 1,000 entrepreneurs every year and create an environment where even those who fail can try again.

For the innovative growth of SMEs, 12,000 smart factories for manufacturing SMEs will be established by 2030. Minister Han also stated, "We will expand the 'Jump-Up' program to help mid-sized companies grow, focus investment on profitable research and development (R&D), and expand support for strong Korean consumer goods and online exports by SMEs."

In the area of a fair and mutually beneficial ecosystem, she said, "We will respond with zero tolerance to companies engaging in unfair practices such as technology theft. At the same time, we will expand the scope of cooperation to cover the entire business ecosystem, including online platforms and finance, and create an ecosystem where large companies and startups can grow together."

Minister Han stressed, "We will ensure money circulates throughout the Korean economy by building a robust safety net and boosting consumption for small business owners, making bold investments and public procurement for startups and venture companies, and implementing policies for prompt payment for SMEs."