Checking Implementation of "Restoring the Growth Ladder"... Ministry of SMEs and Startups Discusses Tasks with Affiliated Agencies

Work Report Session with Public and Related Organizations Held in Sejong
Three Core Keywords: Tangible Outcomes, Speed, and Efficiency

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has pledged to collaborate with public and related organizations to make this year the first year of a major leap forward for South Korea. Minister Hansung Sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups instructed the ministry to swiftly deliver policy outcomes that can be tangibly felt in the field in order to achieve this goal.

On the same day, Minister Han presided over the Ministry of SMEs and Startups public institutions and related organizations work report at the Sejong Government Sejong Convention Center, identifying the following as the core keywords of the discussion: rapid implementation of national policy tasks, creation of policy outcomes that can be felt on the ground, and enhancing the operational efficiency of public and related organizations.

Hansung-sook, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is presiding over the Ministry of SMEs and Startups public institutions and related organizations work report held on the 12th at the Sejong Government Sejong Convention Center. Ministry of SMEs and Startups

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a total of three work report sessions to make 2026 "the year of policy transition focused on growth acceleration." On December 31 of last year, a closed-door session was held to analyze the policy environment, discuss outlooks, and set key policy agendas. On this day, the sessions were divided into two parts to share and discuss each institution's key initiatives and to gather feedback from policy stakeholders.

First, the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency reviewed ways to secure specific data by country and target for selecting online export strategy items such as K-beauty, fashion, and food. Minister Han instructed the agency to supplement the specialized operational strategies of innovation centers to strengthen the competitiveness of regional industrial ecosystems. For the Small Enterprise and Market Service, she ordered the design of "customized AI competency training" tailored to the digital capabilities of small business owners, emphasizing that the training curriculum should go beyond simple experiential learning to include practical applications that enhance the competitiveness of small businesses.

The Korea Federation of Credit Guarantee Foundations decided to seek ways to improve its evaluation system to support a new policy target group, "growth-oriented small business owners." Minister Han also instructed the development of support measures for business recovery, such as debt restructuring for small business owners fundamentally unable to repay their debts. She also called for efforts to enhance the soundness of the guarantee system to ensure its stable operation.

The Korea Technology Finance Corporation set clear key performance indicators (KPIs) for supporting mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to revitalize the exit market and reviewed measures to make compensation for damages more realistic in order to ease the burden on SMEs that have suffered from technology theft. There was a consensus that the asymmetry in corporate value assessment is a key obstacle to M&A, and the importance of the corporation's role, given its proprietary technology evaluation models, was reaffirmed.

Korea Venture Investment Corporation decided to consider ways for the Korea Fund of Funds to share some risks through incentive mechanisms to promote the inflow of venture investment from pension and retirement funds. In addition, there were calls for strategies to link the Korea Fund of Funds with the National Growth Fund in strategic areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), as well as the development of concrete action plans to eradicate unfair investment contracts.

Noh Yongseok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is giving a briefing on the "2026 Ministry of SMEs and Startups Public Institutions and Related Agencies Work Report" on the 12th at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups briefing room in Sejong. Ministry of SMEs and Startups

The Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology was instructed to innovate its existing evaluation system, as it will be managing the largest-ever research and development (R&D) budget (approximately 2.2 trillion won). The Korea Startup Promotion Agency discussed strategies to utilize consultation data from the 17 "Startup One-Stop Support Centers" launched in December last year at the national level. The Korea Small Business Institute was tasked with analyzing the impact of population decline and widening regional disparities on SMEs and establishing quantitative criteria for assessing companies' growth potential to support the transition to growth-oriented policies.

Minister Han stated, "To establish this year as the 'first year of South Korea's major leap forward,' the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and public and related organizations must join forces and concentrate policy capabilities on restoring the growth ladder for SMEs, startups, and small business owners," adding, "Public and related organizations at the forefront must take the lead in policy innovation that policy stakeholders can tangibly experience."