The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) said on the 26th that they will fully implement the "2026 on-site clinic by the business support group" from late April to resolve the managerial and technical challenges that microbusinesses and small and medium-sized enterprises face in the field.
For on-site difficulties at small and medium-sized corporations that are hard to resolve through business support group expert consultations by visiting regional SMEs and Startups offices or by phone, experts in each field will visit the corporations directly and provide an integrated service from corporate diagnosis to tailored solutions.
Eligible recipients are small corporations under the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises and prospective entrepreneurs, with some sectors such as gambling, lodging, and insurance excluded. The support areas are 12 in total: ▲ startups ▲ finance and funding ▲ accounting and tax ▲ technology ▲ production management ▲ imports and exports ▲ legal affairs ▲ human resources and labor ▲ management strategy ▲ informatization ▲ marketing and design ▲ patents.
For startups, imports and exports, and technology, experts will visit on-site for up to seven days, and for other areas, up to three days, with the government covering 80% of the 350,000 won consulting fee. As a result, high-quality professional consulting is available for 70,000 won per day (VAT separate).
Corporations wishing to use the on-site clinic can inquire through the 1357 call center without an area code, the business support group website, or by visiting regional SMEs and Startups offices. Through recommendations by consulting committee members, on-site clinic experts tailored to each corporation will provide customized consultations.
In particular, this year moves away from the single implementing agency system used last year, expanding the implementing agencies to the Korea Association of Management Consultants and the Korea Productivity Center to further strengthen the expert workforce. Through this, while providing customized consultations, the plan is to foster healthy competition between agencies to raise both consultation quality and service speed. An AI diagnostic report that analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of small and medium-sized corporations and recommends tailored support programs will also be newly offered.
Lee Soon-bae, Director General for Policy Planning at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "Starting in the second half of this year, we will expand support areas to digital transformation (DX) and AI transformation (AX), environmental, social and governance (ESG), carbon neutrality, climate response technologies, and technology protection, further strengthening on-site, closely aligned policies that reflect corporations' needs."