SMEs "Activation of Cooperative-Recommended Private Contract System"... LH Meeting

Korea Federation of SMEs Hosts President Byeon Chang-heum
Shared Commitment to Expanding Market Access for SMEs

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs (left), and Byun Chang-heum, President of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on the 23rd that it held a meeting by inviting Byun Chang-hoom, President of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), to support market expansion and resolve difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The meeting was held at the Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul. It was arranged based on a consensus that supporting the expansion of market channels for SMEs is essential for national economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SME sector requested market expansion and fair price guarantees through measures such as the activation of the 'Cooperative Recommendation Private Contract System' utilizing LH's purchasing power and 'Direct Purchase of Construction Materials (Separate Ordering).' They also proposed 13 related institutional improvements, including 'easing sanctions on unfair business operators to overcome disasters' and 'improving the submission method of test reports.'

At the meeting, Kwak Ki-young, Director of the Korea Electrical Industry Cooperative, said, "Although the government is imposing sanctions on unfair business operators (6 months to 2 years), some companies are suffering double hardships as private demand has stopped due to COVID-19 and public bidding is also restricted. Considering the emergency situation, it is necessary to apply a relaxation of bidding participation restrictions."

The Federation of SMEs and LH plan to regularly meet and consult to review the results of institutional improvements and prepare win-win cooperation measures in the future.

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Federation of SMEs, emphasized, "We ask LH to create opportunities for SMEs to contribute to our economic recovery by expanding purchases of SME products and improving systems. SMEs will also do their best to improve quality through technological development and make greater efforts to overcome the national crisis."

Byun Chang-hoom, President of LH, said, "For jobs to be created and employment to increase, SMEs must ultimately survive. We will continuously strive to contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs by seeking solutions to the difficulties and institutional improvement proposals heard at this meeting."

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