The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises said on the 17th that a survey on "perceptions of small and medium-size enterprise policy by the SME sector regarding the government's SME policies" found that 7 out of 10 small and medium-size enterprises (73.6%) are "satisfied" with SME policy since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration.
According to the survey, the government's best-performing SME policy was "restoring the SME R&D budget and supporting innovation such as AI transition," at 58.3%, the highest share. It was followed by "response to U.S. reciprocal tariff damage" (40.9%), "improving the financial environment such as legislating the co-prosperity finance index" (28.7%), and "promoting policies to vitalize startups and venture companies" (20.3%).
Corporations cited as the biggest risk factors for Korea's economy next year, in order, "entrenched low growth" (26.7%), "population crisis such as low birthrate and aging" (24.1%), "widening polarization between large enterprises and SMEs" (22.9%), and "spread of protectionism such as high tariffs" (17.7%).
The most concerning management difficulty next year was "burden of raw material and logistics costs such as a high exchange rate" (50.7%), followed by "rising labor costs" (40.0%), "worsening labor shortages" (30.4%), "excessive regulations on labor, environment, and safety" (24.1%), and "burden of financial costs" (22.6%).
The SME policy the government should prioritize next year was "easing financial and tax burdens" (43.2%), followed by "making labor policy more flexible" (37.7%), "easing labor shortages" (26.1%), and "stabilizing exchange rates and raw material supply" (25.5%).
Kim Ki-moon, head of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, said, "SME owners are satisfied with President Lee Jae-myung's SME policies, such as restoring the R&D budget and responding to reciprocal tariff damage," and added, "We hope that active communication between the government and SMEs will continue so we can resolve the many pressing issues facing the SME sector, including entrenched low growth, the population crisis, and surges in exchange rates and raw materials."