The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea SMEs & Startups Distribution & Marketing Agency said on the 3rd that they held the "2026 brand small-business jump-up meetup day" on the 31st at Dream Sky Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Introduced for the first time this year, "brand small-business jump-up" is a program that supports small businesses' growth over three stages—from brand design to overseas expansion—in partnership with professional advertising agencies. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and the Korea SMEs & Startups Distribution & Marketing Agency plan to support a total of 30 companies this year.
The event was prepared to brief participating small businesses on support directions and step-by-step implementation plans before the full-scale rollout of the program. Attendees received an annual customized schedule designed to help them grow beyond one-off support into self-sustaining, premium brands.
An exchange program among participating companies also took place. Small-business owners shared the difficulties and experiences they faced while running their brands and how they developed online sales channels. They also established a communication base to continue collaborating in the future.
Branding expert Choi Jang-sun, head of Element Company, gave a lecture on "designing the essence of brands in the age of artificial intelligence (AI)." Choi introduced, from a humanities perspective, the unique values that small-business brands should maintain and differentiation strategies amid changes in the technological environment.
Kim Sung-mi, head of Wirange, who participated in the event, said, "We plan to reflect the details of the support programs and the annual schedule we were briefed on in this year's business operation plan to maximize the effectiveness of the support," adding, "We will communicate with fellow small-business owners we met on-site and grow together by leveraging each of our strengths."
Lee Tae-sik, CEO of the Korea SMEs & Startups Distribution & Marketing Agency, noted, "The 'brand small-business jump-up' program focuses on strengthening the unique essence of brands to boost their self-sustainability," and added, "We will spare no effort to help promising small-business owners leap into flagship brands that can be competitive not only in Korea but also in global markets."