Now we must move toward the "national startup era." It is important to build a startup ecosystem where anyone can take on entrepreneurship and where ideas, data, and experience are consolidated so we can grow together.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated accordingly at a press briefing marking the first anniversary of the Lee Jae-myung administration. The Minister said, "In an era when the pace of technological change is accelerating, startups are national competitiveness," adding, "We will build an environment where anyone, including young people, regional talent, foreign nationals, and seniors, can participate in entrepreneurship."
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) is pushing the "Startup for All" project, a nationwide startup audition program, to realize the "national startup era" declared by Lee Jae-myung. In the first call for applications, which recently concluded, about 63,000 people participated, the largest scale ever among government competitive programs.
The Minister said, "Data and ideas created by others can be consolidated and become an asset for the entire startup ecosystem of Korea," adding, "We will make the structure one where startup information is disclosed and accumulated so we can grow together."
The Minister also said the recent growth trend in small and midsize company exports will continue. Last year, SME exports reached $120 billion (about 180 trillion won), the highest on record, and in the first quarter of this year they reached $29.8 billion, the best first-quarter performance. K-beauty in particular drove the increase in exports.
The Minister said, "Beauty is a field where small and midsize companies can build markets with their own brands and respond to market changes faster than large corporations," adding, "There has never been a time with as many SME cosmetics brands as now." The Minister continued, "It is important to strengthen online-based exports and expand support for upgrading businesses combined with tech such as IT," emphasizing, "We will also build an industrial ecosystem that uses regional funds so local founders can enter global markets directly from their regions." The Minister said opening markets in the Global South, including India, is also under review as a new export strategy.
The Minister also raised the need to overhaul compensation systems regarding the sense of relative deprivation among small and midsize companies in connection with the recent Samsung Electronics performance bonus controversy. The Minister said, "While (profit sharing) was once viewed as an issue for some large corporations, it is now also the result of growing together within a government-supported and SME cooperation ecosystem," adding, "It is time for corporations to reconsider their employee compensation systems in line with the changed environment."
The Minister also said, "From the perspective of SME growth, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) is looking at what kind of talent, when recruited by SMEs, can deliver results, and we are considering strengthening support for securing research personnel compared with now."