The Ministry of SMEs and Startups confirmed the "2026 plan to enter the cross-border e-commerce export market" and said on the 12th it will recruit small and midsize platform companies and implementing agencies to support the global expansion of domestic brands.
The cross-border e-commerce export market entry program supports the building of brand-focused platforms and logistics and marketing so that domestic small and midsize companies can pioneer overseas markets online in line with the expansion of overseas e-commerce.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will first select promising small and midsize platforms in brand categories such as beauty and fashion that have proven marketability, growth potential, and innovativeness, and will foster them into global platforms. Selected platforms will receive up to 200 million won, including for renewal and global publicity and marketing. Led by private-sector experts, the ministry also plans to identify export-ready products to back the overseas expansion of excellent small and midsize company products.
The ministry will also designate items with high competitiveness in the global market as "online export strategic items" by using private-sector data such as export statistics and global platform companies' transaction data. For corporations selected with strategic items, a new online export voucher of up to 10 million won per corporation will be introduced so they can choose from and use various support programs.
In addition, it will pilot a product localization program that improves ingredients, packaging, and mandatory labeling to meet local regulations and consumer trends. It also plans to promote collaborative projects in which distributors with overseas channels and exporting corporations jointly enter markets.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will also expand dedicated support programs to raise domestic brand awareness. It will revamp the existing "K-beauty creator challenge" into the "K-brand challenge" to broaden participation and will operate a comprehensive support program that links inviting overseas buyers for consultations with exhibitions, experiences, and curated sales. The program is structured so that everything from discovering promising corporations to connecting sales channels to promoting policies happens in one place.
It will ease the logistics burden on small and midsize companies that export online. While expanding support for international shipping costs, it will also collaborate with Korea Post to subsidize part of the fees for corporations using post office logistics services and introduce a program under which post offices apply discounts of up to 30%. In cooperation with global logistics corporations, it will secure discounted rates for express services and, with assistance from Samsung SDS, arrange dedicated shipping space.
It will also build infrastructure to support the spread of online exports. It will expand the coverage of online export insurance for corporations listed on global platforms and operate a protection council to respond to infringements of domestic brand intellectual property rights. It also plans to offer training courses to cultivate online export specialists and help small and midsize companies alleviate labor shortages.
Recruitment of participating corporations and implementing agencies for the global brand platform fostering project will run until the 10th of next month. Details are available on the GobizKOREA website operated by the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME).