SMEs "Support for Local Product Purchases"... Meeting with Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong

Kim Ki-moon, President of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (third from the left), is discussing measures to resolve difficulties faced by small and medium enterprises and cooperatives for revitalizing the local economy at a meeting hosted by Governor Won Hee-ryong (second from the left) held on the 29th in Jeju Island.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on the 29th that it held the 'On-site Policy Meeting with Won Heeryong, Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.'

The meeting took place at the Jeju Supermarket Cooperative Logistics Center. About 20 representatives from the SME sector, including Kim Gi-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Won Heeryong, Governor of Jeju Province, attended to exchange various opinions on resolving difficulties faced by SMEs and cooperatives in the Jeju region.

At the meeting, 14 agenda items were proposed, including ▲revision of the Jeju Underground Shopping Mall Management Ordinance ▲establishment of urban-type small-scale manufacturing clusters and specialized support centers for small manufacturers ▲cancellation of the mortgage on the Jeju SME joint wholesale logistics center ▲support for purchasing local products to revitalize the Jeju regional economy, among others.

The Jeju Supermarket Cooperative, the venue of the meeting, built its first logistics center in 2004 to reduce purchase costs through joint purchasing and logistics costs through joint logistics, and completed the second logistics center in 2009. It supplies about 7,000 products, including industrial goods as well as agricultural, fishery, and livestock products, to small and medium-sized supermarkets in the Jeju region. Since 2016, its average annual sales have reached 36 billion KRW.

Kim Gi-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, said, "The Jeju Supermarket Cooperative is a cooperative that has successfully secured self-sustainability through the activation of joint projects based on its logistics centers," adding, "We chose the venue for this meeting with the Jeju governor in hopes that the excellent joint project cases of cooperatives will spread nationwide."

He continued, "I ask for active support and cooperation at the provincial level in the future, including improving the business environment, fostering and strengthening cooperatives, and supporting small enterprises and small business owners, so that our economy can take off again."

Won Heeryong, Governor of Jeju Province, emphasized, "I hope that SMEs, the roots of Jeju's economy, will create a virtuous cycle of added value through the platform of cooperatives," and added, "We will firmly support the Jeju SME cooperatives so that they can further enhance their competitiveness through joint projects and collaboration from production to sales and delivery."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.