Seven out of 10 small and medium-sized corporations (68.6%) projected exports will increase next year compared with this year.
The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises announced on the 21st the results of its "2026 small and medium-sized corporation export outlook survey," conducted from the 1st to the 12th on 1,300 exporting small and medium-sized corporations. The survey found that corporations (68.6%) expecting 2026 exports to "increase" compared with 2025 were more than double those expecting a "decrease" (31.4%). In particular, cosmetics (86.4%) and medical/bio (86.1%) exporters were the most positive about the 2026 export outlook.
As for reasons for expecting exports to increase (multiple responses), the most common was "improved product competitiveness with new product launches and quality upgrades," cited by 47.1% of corporations. Diversification of export markets (29.8%) and improved price competitiveness due to a stronger exchange rate (21.6%) followed.
Among small and medium-sized corporations expecting exports to decline, 49.3% cited "intensifying low-price offensives from China" as a difficulty in exporting, followed by increased exchange-rate volatility (44.6%), a surge in raw and subsidiary material prices (37.0%), and uncertainty over U.S./EU tariff policies (35.0%). As response plans in the event of a decline in export performance, they cited diversification of export markets (28.2%), quality improvement or new product launches (23.0%), and reducing production costs such as labor and cost of goods (21.8%).
Despite tariff policies, the markets that exporting small and medium-sized corporations most want to newly enter or expand into were led by the United States (21.0%), followed by Europe (15.2%), Japan (10.6%), and China (10.6%).
As key government tasks to strengthen export competitiveness, demand was highest for "expanding support for the export voucher program" (53.5%), followed by building a response system to China's low-price offensive (35.8%), strengthening diplomacy to respond to U.S./EU tariffs (35.1%), expanding support for participation in overseas exhibitions in emerging markets (31.5%), and support for responding to overseas certifications and regulations (27.2%).
Chu Mun-gap, head of the Economic Policy Headquarters at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, said, "It is significant that, even amid challenging external conditions such as stronger export controls by each country, small and medium-sized corporations are projecting export expansion through strengthened product competitiveness," adding, "However, going forward, capabilities to reduce total costs—such as production costs, logistics costs, tariffs, and lead times—will constitute corporations' export competitiveness. The government should devise cost-reduction support measures so that small and medium-sized corporations can respond to China's low-price offensives and secure competitiveness in the global market."