"We will make 20026 the first year of restoring the rights of microbusiness owners."
Song Chi-young, head of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME), in a New Year's address for 2026 on the 29th, said, "We will open a 'microbusiness owners' sovereignty era' that firmly establishes the status of microbusiness owners as autonomous leaders of Korea's economy next year," expressing strong resolve.
Looking back on 2025, Song said, "Despite difficult conditions such as political upheaval and weak domestic demand, it was a meaningful year in which we laid the policy groundwork, including creating a vice minister post dedicated to microbusiness owners at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and supplying 10 trillion won in special funds for diligent repayers." He added, "The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) achieved the 'era of 1 million members' ahead of schedule and established itself as a leading organization representing Korea."
For 2026, Song presented the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME)'s key priorities as: ▲ building a social safety net and strengthening the welfare system for microbusiness owners ▲ laying the groundwork to establish the KFME policy research institute ▲ policy innovation based on microbusiness data ▲ improving employment conditions for microbusiness owners, including abolishing the weekly holiday allowance ▲ and, ahead of local elections, creating a policy environment that prioritizes microbusiness owners. Through these tasks, Song plans to fully implement the "microbusiness owners' sovereignty era" starting next year.
Song also cited "Nojeokseonghae (露積成海)," which means that gathered dew forms a sea, and said, "If Korea's microbusiness owners unite as one and harmonize, we can overcome any wave."