Chairman Kim Hak-do: "Strengthening On-site Communication... Realizing Differentiated Projects" (Comprehensive)

Inauguration of the 18th President of the Small and Medium Business Corporation

Kim Hak-do, Chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation (first from the left), visited Aspic, an auto parts manufacturing company located in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, on the 19th as his first official schedule after inauguration, listening to an explanation about the products from CEO Lee Ga-sang (second from the left).

Chairman Kim Hak-do on that day met with CEO Lee Ga-sang of Aspic...

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] "From now on, we will strengthen on-site communication to listen carefully to the difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and realize differentiated projects and services that customers want and can experience."

Kim Hak-do, the newly appointed President of the Small and Medium Business Corporation (SBC), stated this while touring the site of Aspic, an automobile parts manufacturing company, on the 19th as his first official schedule after taking office.

On the same day, President Kim met with Lee Gasang, CEO of Aspic, to listen to the on-site difficulties of SMEs affected by COVID-19 and encouraged their efforts to maintain employment and create good job environments despite the challenging business conditions.

Headquartered in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, Aspic has maintained employment for 120 people despite a 35% drop in sales due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the rapidly deteriorating business environment. It is an excellent company that strives to create a good job environment centered on people and talent through flexible working hours and work-study dual systems.

In the afternoon, President Kim attended the inauguration ceremony held at the headquarters in Jinju, Gyeongnam, and expressed his ambition, saying, "I will inherit the 41-year history of dedicated efforts for the growth of small and medium ventures and fulfill my role as a driving force to lead SBC to become the best service support institution for small and medium ventures in Korea."

President Kim emphasized the importance of overcoming the COVID-19 crisis to the employees and announced four major innovation plans that SBC will focus on in the post-COVID era. The key directions for institutional operation include ▲manufacturing innovation and job creation through smartization and digitalization ▲fostering innovative growth companies by enhancing project effectiveness and efficiency ▲improving service quality and organizational performance through strengthening professional capabilities ▲customer-centered management through strengthened on-site communication.

Kim Hak-do, President of the Small and Medium Business Corporation, is speaking to employees about the four major innovation plans at the inauguration ceremony held on the 19th at the headquarters in Jinju, Gyeongnam.

President Kim emphasized, "We will discover policies that respond to future industrial structures and concentrate all SBC capabilities on fostering innovative growth companies."

He also presented a blueprint to lead the innovative growth of SMEs in the post-COVID era by creating new jobs through support measures in the eco-friendly sector for the success of the Korean New Deal project and by focusing support on new industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and smart manufacturing by industry.

President Kim said, "To this end, we will establish a 'relay' system that provides SBC’s funding, export support, human resource development, and startup technology support projects as a package, including policy funds, marketing, non-face-to-face online export support platforms, global AI startup academies, and smart manufacturing workforce training."

He added, "To present a vision for SMEs in the post-COVID era, innovation is needed in all areas including business, customer service, organization, and personnel. We will create an organic and systematic organization based on expertise and efficiency."

To achieve this, President Kim plans to quickly prepare a '100-day innovation plan' by forming a voluntary participation task force among employees. He said, "Furthermore, I will lead the institution with management principles of communication and harmony, change and innovation, integrity and fairness, and a lively and energetic organizational culture."

Born in 1962 in Cheongju, Chungbuk, President Kim graduated from Cheongju High School and Seoul National University with a degree in International Economics. He completed a master's degree in Public Administration at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration and a doctoral course in Political Economy at the University of Southern California. He entered public service through the 31st Administrative Examination and has served as Director of New Industry Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, spokesperson, Director of Trade Negotiations, and Director of Energy Resources. He is an expert in SME policy, having served as President of the Korea Institute for Industrial Technology Promotion and Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. He will lead SBC for the next three years.

SBC is a quasi-governmental institution established to efficiently promote projects for the advancement of SMEs. It manages a fund of about 19 trillion KRW for SME startup and promotion funds. This year, it is the representative institution supporting SMEs by disbursing policy funds worth 5.69 trillion KRW.

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