The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 2nd that it held a "policy roundtable to build a social safety net for young small business owners" at KT&G Sangsang Planet in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, and unveiled the social safety net policy direction for small business owners for 2027.
This roundtable was prepared to share next year's policy direction for the social safety net for small business owners based on on-site feedback gathered at the "small business social safety net roundtable" held from May to July. Young small business owners and self-employed people, single-parent small business owners, prospective entrepreneurs, experts, and officials from related organizations attended.
Prospective entrepreneur Oh Won-jun, head of Brewbake, and others shared their experiences of choosing to start a business instead of finding a job and argued that support measures are needed to ease the burden of failure.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) prepared the new social safety net policy direction for next year based on field opinions raised at past social safety net roundtables. The policy direction consists of three pillars: the "youth entrepreneurship and challenge safety net," which includes the creation of an entrepreneurship reassurance policy insurance; the "life safety net," which includes health and care support projects; and the "social insurance safety net," centered on expanding unemployment benefit support and introducing support for industrial accident insurance.
Participants noted that while support for the preparation stage of starting a business has increased, there is a lack of systems to backstop crises encountered in actual operations. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to further gather on-site opinions, flesh out detailed support measures and implementation methods, and fully launch related projects starting next year.
Lee Byeong-gweon, the second vice minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "It is important to create an environment where young people and small business owners who start businesses with unique ideas can sustain their operations and can try again even if they close," adding, "Based on the voices you have shared on the ground, we will help small business owners endure management crises and build a social safety net that enables them to rise again even if they close."