The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said the first supplementary budget for 2026 passed the National Assembly's plenary session on the 10th and was finalized at 1.6903 trillion won.
The budget will be injected into four areas: 469.2 billion won to minimize war-related damage in the Middle East for export SMEs, 495.2 billion won to stabilize livelihoods for small business owners and others, 671.9 billion won to fuel a startup boom supporting youth jobs, and 61.0 billion won to transition regional small and midsize manufacturers to artificial intelligence. On the day, the National Assembly approved the government's entire supplementary budget proposal totaling 26.2 trillion won as originally submitted, clearing the plenary just 10 days after the government filed it.
The size of the MSS supplementary budget finalized this time is 1.6903 trillion won, down 247.1 billion won from the 1.9374 trillion won the government submitted to the National Assembly after a Cabinet meeting on Mar. 31. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) initially presented four pillars: export shocks from the Middle East war, a liquidity crunch for small business owners, promotion of youth startups, and the AI transition of regional manufacturing, but some programs were adjusted during the National Assembly's review, reducing the final aggregates.
Based on the original government plan, the export institutional sector included 100.0 billion won for export vouchers to address logistics disruptions and expense increases, 250.0 billion won in emergency management stabilization funds due to a strong won-dollar rate and surging raw material prices, 12.2 billion won to ease export control burdens and support online exports, and a 100.0 billion won expansion of new market entry support funds to diversify export destinations. Support for small business owners included a 320.0 billion won expansion of special management stabilization funds, 100.0 billion won in grants each to the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) and the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT), and an additional 24.6 billion won for the Hope Return Package to support business closures and second chances.
In the startup institutional sector, the original plan reflected 155.0 billion won for the "Startup for All Project," a 24.0 billion won expansion of deep-tech startup-centered universities, 60.3 billion won to support local entrepreneurs, and 170.0 billion won in contributions to the mother fund focused on early-stage startups, retrying companies, and regional companies. In the manufacturing institutional sector, it included 75.0 billion won to build leading models for Manufacturing AX based on large-small business cooperation and a new program to train specialized manufacturing AI talent. However, during the National Assembly's review, questions were raised over the appropriateness of the "Startup for All" budget and the use of existing main budget resources. The National Assembly's review report noted that 43.6 billion won in already allocated funds went into the first round of the Startup for All program and flagged concerns that it could undermine the intent of existing programs such as the Preliminary Startup Package.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) also plans to consult fiscal authorities on using Small Enterprise and Market Service Fund resources in response to calls during the National Assembly's review to expand Onnuri gift certificates.
An industry official said, "With the Middle East war dragging on and volatility in oil prices and logistics costs growing, the MSS supplementary budget is largely aimed at absorbing the economic shock by combining short-term liquidity supply with startup and manufacturing innovation," adding, "What matters now will be how quickly the budget is actually executed after approval and how fast the effectiveness of the startup and regional programs, which the National Assembly questioned, can be demonstrated."