The small and midsize business community welcomed the nomination of Han Seong-sook as prime minister. With her record as Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, where she delivered results in digital transformation for small and midsize businesses and the self-employed, building a win-win ecosystem, and responding to technology theft, there are expectations that she will lead field-centered growth policies across state affairs.
The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises on the 7th issued a commentary, saying it welcomed the nomination, noting that "candidate Han, while serving as Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, led the artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation of small and midsize businesses and the self-employed based on experience built in the IT industry."
The federation said candidate Han launched an industry-specific AI support program for small and midsize businesses that struggle to respond individually and restored the basic budget for smart factories, contributing to boosting SMEs' data collection and utilization capabilities.
It also said she worked to create a cooperative environment between large corporations and SMEs by expanding the scope of the supply price indexation system to include energy expense and pushing to introduce the SME win-win finance index.
Addressing technology theft was also cited as a key achievement. The federation said candidate Han worked to strengthen SMEs' technology protection systems by pushing to introduce a Korean-style discovery process.
The federation said, "Candidate Han has communicated on the ground at the forefront of the people's livelihood economy, including SMEs and the self-employed," adding, "She is the right person to overcome the complex crisis of polarization and high interest rates, high inflation, and a strong dollar and to lead to growth for all."
It added, "Having served as Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), we expect she will continue to be an important communication channel linking the SME community and the government."
The Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association also called candidate Han a "proven economic leader" in a commentary the same day.
The association said, "She led a leading domestic IT corporation and served as the first Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in the Lee Jae-myung administration, steering policies for SMEs, the self-employed, and ventures and startups," adding, "She has both a deep understanding of the digital industry and on-site experience."
In particular, during her tenure as Naver CEO, she promoted the "Project Flower" initiative to support the expansion of digital sales channels for the self-employed and creators, and as Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), she was credited with broadening the base of startups through the "Startup for All" project.
The association said, "Korea now faces the historic task of an AI great transformation," adding, "We expect candidate Han to spread the achievements of digital innovation into growth for all, not just some of the public, and to run state affairs so that SMEs, the self-employed, and neighborhood businesses, including women-owned corporations, grow together."