"Mass Unemployment Crisis: Businesses Must Survive for Employment to Thrive"

Cho Hong-rae, President of the Korea Association of Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises (Inno-Biz Association)
COVID-19 On-site Inspection
18,400 Inno-Biz Certified Companies
Scheduled Nationwide Tour of 9 Branches by Next Month
Listening to Damage Status and Difficulties

Cho Hong-rae, President of the Korea Association of Small and Medium Business Technology Innovation (Inno-Biz Association)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] Cho Hong-rae, chairman of the Korea Association of Small and Medium Business Technology Innovation (Inno-Biz Association), visits local branches of Inno-Biz nationwide to encourage Inno-Biz companies striving to overcome the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and to listen to the damage status and difficulties they face.

According to the Inno-Biz Association on the 28th, Chairman Cho recently visited the Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungnam branches and member companies, and this week he will tour the Daegu and Gyeongbuk branches, followed by the Gyeongnam branch in early next month, covering a total of nine branches nationwide by June.

Chairman Cho stated, "The management of small and medium enterprises is very difficult due to COVID-19, but through nationwide branch visits, we plan to listen to voices from the field and encourage the prompt utilization of support project funds promoted by the association, such as smartization," adding, "We plan to convey the difficulties and suggestions related to corporate management caused by COVID-19 to the government and financial institutions."

The Inno-Biz Association is an organization consisting of technology-innovative small and medium enterprises with more than three years of business experience certified by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups based on the Act on the Promotion of Technology Innovation for Small and Medium Enterprises. It has branches in Gangwon, Gwangju-Jeonnam, Gyeongnam, Daegu-Gyeongbuk, Daejeon-Sejong-Chungnam, Busan-Ulsan, Jeonbuk, Jeju, and Chungbuk. Currently, there are about 18,400 Inno-Biz certified companies.

Chairman Cho continues various activities to overcome the damage caused by COVID-19. Last month, through an emergency fundraising campaign to support member companies in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, which suffered concentrated damage due to the spread of COVID-19, a total of 63.4 million KRW was raised to purchase and deliver masks and disinfectants.

The Inno-Biz Association and its member companies are also promoting a "Good Consumer Movement," where employees prepay for meals and various office supplies at small business stores they usually use.

Chairman Cho pointed out "unemployment" as the most worrisome aspect due to the COVID-19 situation. He said, "If the overall economy does not recover, unemployment will be the first concern," adding, "It is expected to be difficult to replenish naturally decreasing personnel."

He emphasized, "Companies must survive first, and then employment should follow, but it is difficult to maintain employment while keeping companies alive," and added, "The priority should be to save companies and maintain employment."

Chairman Cho is also the CEO of Korea Dokimek, which produces and supplies pneumatic equipment.

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