The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said it will accept applications for "prestigious long-lived corporations," expected to achieve sustained growth across generations, from the 26th to Apr. 24.
Prestigious long-lived corporations refers to small and midsize or middle market corporations that have maintained sound management for at least 45 years and contributed to society and the economy. Introduced in 2017, a total of 63 corporations have been selected through last year.
Eligible applicants are small and midsize or middle market corporations with at least 45 years in business. However, construction, real estate, finance, insurance and pension, and financial and insurance-related services are excluded. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to conduct corporate evaluations and reputation checks from Apr. to Aug. and make final selections in Sep.
This year's selection of prestigious long-lived corporations will expand the selection of non-capital-area corporations to reflect the policy of balanced regional growth. The government plans to raise the share of corporations centered on each mega-region outside the capital area to about 60% of the total by 2030.
By Jul., it will push to revise the enforcement decree and enforcement rules, including improvements to the criteria for determining maintenance of the same business type. In particular, by easing the criteria for determining the same business type from the subcategory level to the major category level, cases of business diversification by corporations and entry into new industries such as Fintech and proptech can be reflected in the selection of prestigious long-lived corporations.
For prestigious long-lived corporations selected in 2017 whose terms expire in Feb. 2027, it will also review whether to extend their qualification through corporate evaluations and reputation inquiries.
For this year's prestigious long-lived corporations applications, corporations can apply directly, or anyone can recommend corporations online. After preparing the required documents, small and midsize corporations should submit them to the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises by Apr. 24, and middle market corporations should submit them to the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea (FOMEK) by Apr. 24. Public recommendations of candidate corporations can be made online until Apr. 10.
Kim Dae-hee, director general for small and medium enterprise strategy planning at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "We will strengthen policy support so that more corporations can emerge that grow across generations based on long-accumulated technological capabilities and management know-how."