The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will build a growth ladder for small and venture companies that runs from startup to growth, global expansion, and a second chance. It also plans to spread the fruits of growth to regions and small merchants and to completely overhaul small-business support policies.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) presented its second-half policy direction centered on three pillars at a ministry briefing chaired by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House state guest house on the 4th: systematizing growth pathways for small businesses; spreading the warmth of growth to regions and social strata; and "combing the tangled hair" of small-business policy. The briefing was delivered by No Yong-seok, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups first vice minister (acting Minister).
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) cited the spread of startup enthusiasm, a recovery in venture investment, and an increase in small-business exports as first-half achievements. About 62,000 people joined the nationwide startup project "Startup for All," and venture fund formation reached 4.4 trillion won, an all-time record.
Small-business exports also hit a record high of $64 billion, the best ever for a first half, and the research and development (R&D) budget was set at an all-time high of 2.2 trillion won. It also listed the promotion of consumption by small merchants and groundwork to eradicate technology theft as major outcomes.
In the second half, it will speed up nurturing innovative companies by building a growth ladder that connects startup, growth, global expansion, and second chances. It will expand the "Startup for All" project and designate additional regional startup cities, while strategically supporting new growth industries such as new security, pharmaceuticals and biotech, Climate Tech, and manufacturing AI.
It will also expand venture investment by linking the mother fund and the Public Growth Fund, and foster 3,000 promising regional companies as national flagship corporations. For corporations in management crises, it plans to provide opportunities to rebound through early warnings, financial support, and transitions to new industries.
It will also strengthen support so that the fruits of growth can reach regions and small merchants. It will boost the competitiveness of traditional markets and local commercial districts, establish a basic social security framework for small merchants, and promote a reform of policy finance. Win-win cooperation between large and small businesses will be expanded beyond manufacturing to platforms, finance, and defense, and it plans to foster a fair-trade environment and revitalize the social solidarity economy.
It will also redefine the small-business policy framework. It will streamline small-business support programs scattered across ministries, integrate similar and overlapping programs, and improve policy efficiency. For startup regulations, it will establish governance to check impacts from the introduction stage, and it plans to systematically manage and open corporate data to build a data-based policy framework.
First Vice Minister No Yong-seok said, "The past six months were a time when we focused policy capabilities so small and venture businesses could move beyond recovery to innovative growth," and added, "In the second half, we will do our best to build a small and venture growth ladder and spread the warmth of growth so that everyone can grow together in Korea."