If 2025 was a year of laying the groundwork for overcoming crisis and recovery, 2026 must be a year to move beyond recovery to growth. We will restore the ladder of growth for small businesses, startups, and microbusiness owners.
Han Seong-sook Minister of SMEs and Startups (MSS) emphasized growth amid crisis in a New Year's address on the 31st. Han said, "Our economic environment will by no means be easy in the new year," adding, "I believe Korea's economy will take another leap forward on the strength of the small businesses, startups, and microbusiness owners who have ceaselessly opened new paths." Han also noted, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will run alongside the small businesses, startups, and microbusiness owners in the field with an attitude of unremitting self-strengthening, and will answer with results."
The Minister highlighted "restoring the ladder of growth for small businesses, startups, and microbusiness owners" as the core goal for 2026. Four policy directions were also presented: revitalizing local livelihoods, promoting startups, innovation-driven growth of manufacturing SMEs, and building an ecosystem of fairness and co-prosperity.
The Minister said, "We will provide management stability vouchers of 250,000 won each to 2.3 million microbusiness owners," and added, "From detecting crisis signals among microbusiness owners to business closure and re-challenge or re-employment, we will create a structure that enables a new challenge through consolidation into a single pathway." Han continued, "To secure a stable sales base for microbusiness owners, we will expand the Korea Grand Festival into a glocal event and foster growth-oriented microbusiness owners led by youth and commercial districts, including discovering 10,000 local entrepreneurs each year."
Plans to promote startup activity were also presented. The Minister said, "We will strengthen incentives for private venture investment, including pension funds and retirement pensions, and, by supplying a government parent fund worth 1.6 trillion won as priming water, open an era of 40 trillion won in annual venture investment." Han also said, "We will revamp the public procurement system for startups so the government becomes the first purchasing channel for startups," adding, "We will discover 1,000 entrepreneurs every year and create an environment where they can try again even if they fail."
Regarding a strategy for innovation-driven growth of SMEs, the Minister said, "We will build 12,000 smart factories for small manufacturers by 2030 and expand the jump-up program for advancing to mid-sized corporations," adding, "We will focus investment on research and development (R&D) that makes money and expand support for K-consumer goods and online exports where SMEs are strong."
Finally, the Minister emphasized, "We will respond to corporations that commit unfair practices such as technology theft with a zero-tolerance principle," and added, "We will expand the scope of win-win cooperation to the entire corporate ecosystem, including online platforms and finance, and build a win-win ecosystem where large corporations and startups grow together."