The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises on the 23rd proposed a region-led growth strategy to boost the competitiveness of local small and midsize businesses weakened by population decline and waning industrial vitality. It includes 35 common tasks and 140 region-specific tasks centered on attracting corporations, industrial innovation, and infrastructure improvement.
Local small and midsize businesses face a complex set of challenges compared with the greater Seoul area, including population decline and regional extinction, waning vitality amid low growth, and a lack of infrastructure. The widening gap with the capital region is leading to imbalances across society.
KBIZ, focusing on three key agendas—expanding the inflow of corporations and talent, strengthening innovation capacity in industries and corporations, and improving infrastructure—proposed 35 common tasks and 140 region-specific tasks for the growth of local small and midsize businesses.
First, to spur the inflow of corporations and talent, it said requirements should be eased for the transfer of "reshoring," which brings back production facilities or corporate activities that had moved overseas, to the provinces. It also proposed policies to resolve mismatches between young job seekers and local small and midsize businesses through a strong small business platform.
To strengthen industrial and corporate innovation capacity, it argued that 15 policy tasks are needed, including supporting business transitions in traditional manufacturing, linking small and midsize business research and development (R&D) with public procurement, expanding cooperation between local universities and corporations, bolstering support for industry-specific artificial intelligence and digital transformation (AX·DX), and building a system to foster regional strategic industries.
On the infrastructure side, it presented easing regulations for tenants in aging industrial complexes, improving living conditions to help young people settle in the regions, and enhancing small and midsize businesses' access to finance as key tasks.
Reflecting on-the-ground opinions, it also identified a total of 140 region-specific tasks. For Gwangju and South Jeolla, it proposed drawing up a basic plan for a special administrative integration city and ways to use fiscal resources, while for Busan and Ulsan it suggested early groundbreaking for the new Gadeokdo airport and strengthening collaboration through the transfer of maritime institutions. South Gyeongsang put forward strengthening competitiveness in shipbuilding and equipment industries, and Daegu and North Gyeongsang highlighted transitioning to the future mobility industry and expanding exports by parts corporations as major tasks.
Daejeon and Sejong emphasized building a deep-tech startup base; South Chungcheong called for improving evaluation indicators for renewable energy projects; and North Chungcheong stressed the need to attract corporations and support startups centered on the Osong bio industrial complex. In the greater Seoul area, the plan included revitalizing a peace economy special zone by easing regulations in northern Gyeonggi, building industrial logistics infrastructure in Incheon, and strengthening support for Seoul's printing industry cluster. In addition, North Jeolla evaluated that creating a Saemangeum RE100 industrial complex is important, while Jeju and Gangwon respectively prioritized building foundations for resource circulation and supply chain stabilization.
Kim Ki-moon, chair of KBIZ, said, "Based on total sales of small and midsize businesses, the management gap between corporations in the capital region and those outside it has widened to 6 to 4." He added, "We hope for interest so that policy tasks for small and midsize businesses are reflected and lead to policy, to reverse the trend of rapid concentration in the capital region since the 2000s and achieve region-led growth that makes both small and midsize businesses and small merchants happy."