The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 28th that it will hold the "2026 third pan-government education briefing on SME technology protection" with the Large and Small Business and Agricultural and Fisheries Cooperation Foundation to raise awareness of technology protection among small and midsize enterprises and strengthen their response capabilities.
The briefing is a joint event by related ministries arranged so SMEs can review, in one place, technology protection systems and support programs that are spread across multiple ministries. It will be held on July 2 at the Kimdaejung Convention Center in Gwangju.
It will take place nationwide in a touring format a total of five times this year and will be held in Gwangju for the third time following Busan and Daejeon. The briefings will continue in Gangwon in September and in Seoul in November.
Five ministries, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the Korea Fair Trade Commission, and the Korean National Police Agency, will introduce systems and support programs related to technology protection.
Key topics include ▲ support programs to strengthen SME technology protection capabilities ▲ prevention of industrial technology leaks and investigation cases ▲ remedies and support systems related to subcontracting technology misappropriation ▲ technology protection support policies and infringement relief procedures ▲ the unfair trade investigation system.
Domestic security company ESTsecurity Corp. will give a lecture on the theme of "ways to strengthen cybersecurity management in the AI era." It plans to share cybersecurity management measures and response strategies that SMEs can use in the field.
On-site, free consultations will also be provided with technology protection experts. Experts in security and legal fields will consult on difficulties corporations face related to preventing technology leaks, responding to infringements, and remedies procedures.
The Win-Win Growth Cooperation Foundation plans to use this briefing to raise regional SMEs' awareness of technology protection and their response capabilities, and to continue expanding field-centered support that reflects regional industrial characteristics.
An official at the Win-Win Growth Cooperation Foundation said, "Technology protection is a key task directly tied to the survival and competitiveness of SMEs, but many corporations struggle to respond systematically due to staffing and expense burdens," and added, "We hope this briefing will make it easier to understand the government's technology protection systems and support programs and provide an opportunity to apply them in the field."
The official added, "We will continue to work with related ministries to provide field-centered support so SMEs can protect their technology with confidence."