Announcement of Applications for the "Cooperative Professional Personnel Support Project" for SME Cooperatives

Wage Subsidies for Professional Personnel in Cooperative Joint Projects

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on January 18 that it is recruiting cooperatives to participate in the "Cooperative Professional Personnel Support Project" to revitalize joint projects of SME cooperatives.

This project provides wage subsidies for professionals newly hired by SME cooperatives to carry out joint projects. The eligible applicants are SME cooperatives established under the SME Cooperative Act.

Selected cooperatives, according to the procedures, will receive support for one professional per cooperative for one year from the initial hiring date, within the budget limits. The support covers 70% of the monthly wage, up to 2 million won per person. Additionally, cooperatives that received support for professionals last year can apply for an extension of the support period. If selected through a re-evaluation, they will receive support for 50% of the monthly wage in the second year.

This project is being implemented as part of the "3rd Three-Year Plan to Revitalize SME Cooperatives" by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The plan is to provide professional personnel for joint projects to SME cooperatives with a total budget of 940 million won, the same as last year. The professionals hired will complete training courses provided by the Federation on SME cooperative management and joint project strategy development, after which they will be responsible for planning, executing, managing performance, and building networks for joint projects.

Last year, the Federation supported 78 professionals in 78 cooperatives, which led to tangible expansion of joint projects and improved profitability. Suh Jaeyoon, Head of the Cooperative Division at the Korea Federation of SMEs, stated, "The professional personnel support project provides a foundation for cooperatives to pursue joint projects and supports professionals who help strengthen their capabilities. We hope this will provide practical help to cooperatives with weak foundations for joint projects and lead to greater activation of such projects."