The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will allocate a record-high budget of 18.0724 trillion won next year to support ventures, small and midsize corporations, and small merchants.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said on the 1st it has finalized a 2027 budget plan of 18.0724 trillion won, up 9.4% from this year's main budget (16.5233 trillion won), and will submit it to the National Assembly. First Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said, "We structured it around core projects to build a growth ladder in which the state participates from startup, growth, leap, to second chance, and to spread the warmth of economic growth to traditional markets, local commercial districts, and small merchants."
◇ Building a growth ladder for startup, growth, and second chance
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will first lower the barriers to starting a business and expand the foundation for innovative corporations to grow. It will invest 441.1 billion won in the startup talent platform "Startup for All" and expand the number of beneficiaries from 15,000 this year to 20,000 next year. Commercialization funds will also increase from an average of 20 million won to 30 million won. For the regional startup package, it will newly allocate 170 billion won to provide up to 500 million won in commercialization funds and local settlement expense to startups and corporations seeking transfer.
It newly allocated 108.3 billion won to expand deep-tech startup-centered universities and 16.6 billion won to support career-founders. To expand venture investment in early-stage, regional, AI, and deep-tech corporations, it will also raise the budget for the mother fund contribution to a record 1.3 trillion won.
It newly allocated 10 billion won to a project to discover and foster 300 innovative corporations in the four new growth sectors of new security, Climate Tech, pharmaceutical-bio, and K-consumer goods. It will invest 54 billion won in the technology commercialization package and 3.8 billion won in establishing a security-specialized investment institution, and expand the public-private open innovation and global corporation collaboration programs to 54.3 billion won and 60 billion won, respectively.
It will invest 156.3 billion won in the super-gap startup project to nurture startups in six strategic industries and 12 strategic fields. It will also newly promote a 172.8 billion won project for physical AI technology demonstration and AI transition (AX) at small and midsize manufacturing sites. For the SMEs and ventures technology innovation (R&D) program, it concentrated investment in the growth of innovative corporations in the four new growth sectors, three megaprojects, and seven seed fields, allocating a total of 2.5537 trillion won. It will invest 1.3435 trillion won in TIPS-style R&D.
It will support the next-stage leap of growth corporations. It will allocate 164.2 billion won to the Jump-up program that nurtures promising corporations into mid-sized corporations, and invest 468.2 billion won to spread AI smart factories. It will also newly support 28.4 billion won to train manufacturing AI specialists in connection with the four major science and technology institutes including KAIST.
Export support will be reorganized to match corporations' growth stages. The existing export voucher will be split into an export base voucher and an export growth package, and the related budget will be more than doubled to 313.7 billion won. It also allocated 23.8 billion won and 27.9 billion won for large-small corporation joint overseas entries and responses to overseas export regulations, respectively. SME policy funds will be simplified into startup, growth, second chance, and business stabilization, supporting a total of 5.4 trillion won, including 4.4 trillion won in loan and 1 trillion won in private loan interest subsidies.
It will also support second chances for failed entrepreneurs. It will newly allocate 92.9 billion won for second-chance support such as the Second Chance Success School and the Second Chance Encouragement Project, and build an AI-based early warning monitoring system for 250,000 small and midsize corporations.
◇ Spreading growth warmth to regions and classes
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will also significantly strengthen support for traditional markets and local commercial districts to revitalize local economies. It will allocate 56.2 billion won to a traditional market safety management package to prepare for the climate crisis and 42.7 billion won to foster traditional markets linked to the Korean Wave, culture, and tourism. It will invest 20 billion won in local theme commercial districts that turn local gastronomy, cultural heritage, and experiential activities into content, and 7.2 billion won in global commercial districts utilizing tourism and cultural resources.
It will also strengthen the social safety net so that small merchants can recover even after business crises and closures. It will newly allocate 30 billion won to customized policy insurance for young small merchants and invest 315.3 billion won in the Hope Return Package that supports closure and recovery. It will allocate 205 billion won to support small merchants' closure allowances due to health checkups and substitute labor costs, and expand support for self-employed workers' employment insurance premiums and industrial accident insurance premiums.
Financial support for small merchants will total 4.25 trillion won. It will convert general business stabilization funds into 2 trillion won in loan interest subsidies and support 2.25 trillion won in loan, including growth promotion, business stabilization, and crisis response funds. It will expand the re-guarantee budget for regional credit guarantee foundations to 260.7 billion won. It will allocate 80 billion won for product innovation, branding, and market development by small merchants in the lifestyle and culture sectors, and newly invest 11.9 billion won to strengthen digital capabilities and support AX and DX for vulnerable small merchants.
It will also strengthen support to reduce small merchants' expense burdens and create a fair competitive environment. It allocated 124 billion won to foster public delivery apps into platforms used jointly by consumers, tenant businesses, and riders. It will invest 24.7 billion won in technology protection projects that enhance the response capabilities of corporations victimized by technology theft. It allocated 3.1 billion won for regulatory improvement through identifying startup regulatory difficulties and joint demonstrations, and 8.2 billion won to support wide-area connected regulatory free zones.