The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said it will implement the "2026 integrated announcement for marketing support programs" on the 27th to help small and medium-sized enterprises develop sales channels.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to execute the budget quickly by moving up the announcement schedule compared with last year and starting projects early, given the high uncertainty in this year's external economic environment.
The total support size for this project is 14.17 billion won, and the main support programs are: ▲ online sales channel support ▲ offline sales channel support ▲ operation of dedicated stores for SME products ▲ marketing capacity-building programs.
Under the online sales channel support program, professional MDs will provide direct consulting for small and medium-sized enterprises, and entry fees and marketing expense will be supported to help them list on major e-commerce platforms, including vertical commerce, and home shopping.
Under the offline sales channel support program, the ministry will support offline promotional activities for small and medium-sized enterprises, such as offline special exhibitions installed and operated within large distribution networks and popup stores reflecting distribution trends, to expand offline sales channels for SME products. It also plans to hold buyer consultation meetings in connection with corporate expos hosted by local governments to provide opportunities to develop sales channels through buyer consultations.
Dedicated stores for SME products are installed in commercial districts with high foot traffic to provide exhibition and sales space for SMEs to develop sales channels. Seven locations are currently in operation at places such as the duty-free zone at Incheon International Airport and department stores, applying sales commission rates more than half lower than private distribution networks and supporting dedicated sales staff. In particular, the policy duty-free shop installed at Incheon Airport will be revamped as a testbed focused on the four key K-export strategic items and used as a bridgehead for entry into the global market.
The marketing capacity-building program is a new initiative this year that aims to enhance the fundamental self-sustainability of supported companies by strengthening marketing capabilities, moving beyond the previous approach that focused only on sales channel support. Specifically, it will organize essential services needed for capacity building—from marketing strategy development to AI-based content production and SNS promotion—into a "menu-style" format so participating companies can select the support they need according to their demand.
Lee Sun-bae, director general for global growth policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "Amid the recent slump in domestic demand, small and medium-sized enterprises are struggling to develop sales channels," and added, "We will actively support the development of sales channels for outstanding SMEs in cooperation with private distribution channels."