Chairman Kim Gium: "Hoping SME-Centered, Region-Led Growth Begins in Honam"

Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business Holds '2026 Honam Region New Year's Gathering for Small and Medium Business Entrepreneurs'

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business announced on January 22 that it held the "2026 Honam Region Small and Medium Business New Year's Meeting" at the multipurpose hall of the Kimdaejung Convention Center in Gwangju Metropolitan City. The event was attended by more than 500 key figures from the Honam region's small and medium business community, as well as representatives from the business sector, government, National Assembly, local governments, and related organizations.

The New Year's Meeting for Small and Medium Business Owners is held annually in each region, bringing together key figures from the government, local governments, and the SME sector to reaffirm their resolutions for the new year and boost the morale of small and medium business owners.

No Hongseok, Vice Governor of Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province (third from left), Kim Youngrok, Governor of Jeollanam-do, Kim Kimoon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Kang Gijeong, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, among others, are posing for a commemorative photo at the "2026 Honam Region Small and Medium Business New Year's Meeting." Korea Federation of SMEs

Attendees at the event included Kang Kijeong, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City; Kim Youngrok, Governor of Jeollanam-do; Noh Hongseok, Deputy Governor of Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province; as well as key officials from the National Assembly, local governments, and the central government. Other participants included Shin Sujeong, Chairperson of the Gwangju Metropolitan Council; Lee Jeongseon, Superintendent of Education for Gwangju; Kim Daejung, Superintendent of Education for Jeollanam-do; Park Jongchan, Head of the Gwangju Regional Small and Medium Business Administration; Kim Hakseon, Head of the Gwangju Regional Tax Office; and Kim Woohwan, Head of the Gwangju Regional Public Procurement Service. From the National Assembly, lawmakers Jeong Jinwook, Joo Cheolhyeon, and Shin Jeonghun of the Democratic Party of Korea were also in attendance.

Kim Gium, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, stated, "I hope that a major shift toward 'growth for all' through locally driven, SME-centered growth will begin here in the Honam region." He added, "As we welcome the Year of the Red Horse, which comes around once every 60 years, we must make this year a time of great economic leap forward." Chairman Kim also introduced the four-character idiom chosen by the SME community for this year, "Jagangbulshik" (自强不息, meaning 'to strengthen oneself and never cease'), and pledged, "Through the will to become stronger and to keep moving forward without rest, we will do our utmost to ensure that small and medium businesses become the driving force behind a new leap for the Korean economy."