If Supply Costs Rise, Request an Increase in Delivery Payment

Source: Ministry of SMEs and Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] It has been revealed that 6 out of 10 domestic small and medium-sized suppliers utilized the payment adjustment consultation system. The system requires subcontractors or cooperatives to request payment adjustments from the commissioning companies when adjustments are needed due to changes in supply costs such as labor costs. It has been in effect since July last year.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 31st, a written survey was conducted from December last year to January this year targeting 1,267 subcontracting companies, and 51.3% (650 companies) were aware of the system.

Among 96 SMEs eligible to use the system, 65.6% (63 companies) applied for payment adjustments. All 63 companies that applied for payment adjustments started consultations, and among them, 85.7% (54 companies) succeeded in reaching an agreement with the commissioning companies to increase payment.

Park Jongchan, Director of Win-Win Cooperation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Considering that this survey was conducted about six months after the system was implemented, the awareness of the system is somewhat disappointing," but added, "The application rate, success rate of agreements, and willingness to use the system in the future were all meaningful results, indicating that the system is somewhat settling in the field."

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to promote policies to revitalize the payment adjustment consultation system through the Win-Win Mediation Committee, including ▲granting the Korea Federation of SMEs additional consultation rights for payment adjustments ▲expanding incentives for companies utilizing the system.

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