Mu-hyup and Ministry of SMEs Hold Evaluation Meeting for 'Brand K', National Joint Brand for SMEs

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held the final evaluation meeting on the 29th at COEX in Samseong-dong to select products for the national joint brand of promising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), ‘Brand K,’ and announced the final selection of about 80 products for the second term.

'Brand K' is a national representative brand project created to support SMEs that possess excellent technology and quality but face difficulties in pioneering domestic and overseas markets due to a lack of independent brand recognition. Last September, 39 products were selected for the first term.

The final evaluation meeting was held with 100 evaluators including KITA Chairman Kim Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, YouTuber Daedoseogwan, broadcaster Jo Woo-jong, singer Sean, and 165 final candidate companies.

In his greeting, Chairman Kim Young-joo said, "Although our economy has fallen into difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts to strengthen companies’ global competitiveness and advance into overseas markets are needed more than ever," adding, "KITA will actively cooperate with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and related organizations to lead the globalization of Brand K and enhance the external recognition of our products."

Experts in branding, quality, distribution, and bio fields, power bloggers, influencers, and celebrities with high domestic and international recognition participated on-site to evaluate representative ‘Made in Korea’ products with marketability and innovation. Real-time live broadcasts and online voting were conducted simultaneously to provide opportunities for nationwide participation.

Combining the results of on-site evaluations and online voting, about 80 products were finally selected, including cosmetics, daily necessities, fashion, home appliances, food, and K-bio (preliminary). KITA plans to operate a public-private joint consultative body with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to comprehensively support Brand K quality management, premiumization of selected products, overseas market development, and intellectual property dispute management. The first support project will be the ‘Brand K Product Online Export Consultation’ to be held on May 20.

Meanwhile, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and maintain social distancing, KITA minimized face-to-face contact by securing a distance of more than 2 meters between product exhibition booths of the 165 participating companies at the event. Additionally, disinfection air curtains and thermal imaging cameras were installed at each entrance, and strict quarantine measures were enforced, including mandatory mask-wearing for all participants, completion of health questionnaires, application of antibacterial film on tablets used for screening, and frequent disinfection of the venue.

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