Government to Spend 10 Billion Won Supporting 120 Small and Medium Enterprises in Export Market Development... "Response to COVID-19"

Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it will promote the 'Mid-sized Enterprise Global Support Project' to address export difficulties faced by Korean companies due to COVID-19 and other factors.

On the 11th, the Ministry stated that, together with KOTRA, it will support overseas export marketing to strengthen the export competitiveness of small and mid-sized enterprises and nurture them into global companies.

Applications for participating companies will be accepted starting from the 12th. Small and mid-sized enterprises with growth potential will be selected to receive customized overseas marketing support. Eligible candidates include companies selected for the World Class 300 program and other small and mid-sized enterprises.

In the first recruitment held in January, 51 companies were selected and supported with a budget of 4.3 billion KRW. For this second recruitment, the number of supported companies has been expanded to 120, and the budget increased to 10 billion KRW. The scope of support has also been enhanced.

The Ministry explained that the scale of support was expanded due to increased global market instability and export difficulties caused by COVID-19 and other factors.

Next month, selected companies will receive export vouchers worth 60 million to 100 million KRW per company (with a subsidy rate of 30-70%). Support will also be provided for local marketing and the discovery of new or alternative export markets.

In particular, for export companies facing difficulties in overseas local marketing due to COVID-19, KOTRA's overseas trade offices will focus on managing local business partners, supporting export contracts, obtaining permits, and entering local distribution networks on behalf of the companies.

Additionally, KOTRA will assign export specialists to each company to provide comprehensive export strategy consulting that considers entry plans into target export markets.

They plan to systematically support overseas marketing services that can be utilized throughout all export processes, including local market research, certification, promotion, design, and exhibitions.

Companies wishing to participate in the project can apply through the Export Support Infrastructure Utilization (Export Voucher) website by the 31st.

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