SME Job Favorability Score 52.6... Gap with Large Corporations Widens Further

Korea Federation of SMEs
2020 National Survey on Public Favorability of SME Jobs
Large Corporations Score 75.5 out of 100
Positive Perception of SMEs Increases
52.6% Say "Positive Image Has Increased"

Source=Korea Federation of SMEs

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] Public perception of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is becoming more positive, but the gap in favorability compared to large corporations continues to widen.

According to the '2020 National Survey on Favorability of SME Jobs' released by the Korea Federation of SMEs on the 1st, the overall favorability score for SMEs was 52.6 out of 100, showing a 22.9-point gap compared to 75.5 points for large corporations.

This gap is larger than the 17.3-point difference between large and small enterprises found in the Federation's first survey on the national perception of SMEs in 2016. In 2018, the gap was 21.5 points. The Federation did not release the national SME image perception results in 2019. This year, the survey was renamed 'Favorability of SME Jobs.'

The Largest Gap Between Large and Small Enterprises is in 'Stability'
Doubts About SMEs' Ability to Secure Funding

The survey was conducted from July 16 to 31 this year, targeting 1,000 adults aged 20 and over nationwide. Public favorability toward jobs in large corporations and SMEs was assessed across five categories: self-realization, social status, stability, growth potential, and working conditions.

This year, the overall favorability toward SME jobs increased by 1.0 point from 51.6 in 2018, while large corporations saw a 2.4-point increase, slightly widening the gap. The largest gap between large and small enterprises this year was in 'stability.' SMEs scored 50.6 points, 31.9 points lower than the 82.5 points for large corporations.

Notably, agreement with the statement 'SMEs have the credit status to secure operating funds' was low at 46 points, indicating many people harbor doubts about SMEs' ability to secure funding.

In terms of working conditions, there was a 24.5-point perception gap, with large corporations scoring 73.7 points and SMEs 49.2 points. Satisfaction with SME welfare benefits was also low at 44.5 points.

SMEs scored 52.9 points on self-realization perception, which is 73.6% of the large corporations' 71.9 points. This is a 0.4-point increase from 51.8 points in 2018, while large corporations increased by 1.3 points. The perception of SMEs' social status was 54.8 points, 70.6% of the large corporations' 77.6 points. Compared to 54.1 points in 2018, SMEs increased by 0.7 points and large corporations by 2.6 points.

The perception of SMEs' growth potential was 55.1 points, 75.9% of the large corporations' 72.6 points. This is a 0.9-point increase from 54.2 points in 2018, while large corporations increased by 3.3 points, further widening the gap.

Source=Korea Federation of SMEs

In this survey, SMEs scored highest in 'growth potential perception' (55.1 points), followed by 'social status perception' (54.8 points) and 'self-realization perception' (52.9 points). Notably, the gaps in 'growth potential' and 'self-realization' compared to large corporations were relatively small.

52.6% Say "Positive Image of SMEs Has Increased"
Influence of Expanded Support Policies for Large and Small Enterprises

By category, perceptions of 'stability' (+1.4 points) and 'working conditions' (+1.3 points) for SMEs slightly improved compared to 2018. However, all categories showed larger increases for large corporations, maintaining the gap between large and small enterprises.

Negative perceptions of SMEs included 'wage and welfare gaps between large and small enterprises' (43.4%), 'rejection of unfair subcontracting practices' (19.3%), and 'deterioration of SME business environment due to minimum wage increases and 52-hour workweek' (14.5%). Favorability was lower among younger generations (20s: 49.1 points, 60s and older: 56.4 points), males (49.7 points) compared to females (55.5 points), and those with higher education levels (high school or less: 56.7 points / graduate school or higher: 49.6 points).

Compared to the past, public positive perception of SMEs has increased. When asked about changes in the image of SMEs, 52.6% responded that the 'positive image has increased.' Others answered 'no change from the past' (30.5%), 'don't know' (8.6%), and 'negative image has increased' (8.3%).

Source=Korea Federation of SMEs

The main factors contributing to the increased positive perception of SMEs were 'government expansion of support policies for large and small enterprises' (30.2%) and 'voluntary capacity building in response to social structural changes in SMEs' (27.2%). The contribution of job creation to improving SME perception scored 66.4 out of 100, up 2.1 points from 64.3 in 2018.

The Korea Federation of SMEs has been promoting various projects to enhance public perception of SMEs and resolve job mismatches. It aims to launch a tentative SME job platform service within this year. Through this platform, useful job information will be provided continuously and intuitively.

Kim Gi-moon, chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, emphasized, "For SMEs to become desirable workplaces, active self-help efforts by SMEs and support policies to strengthen the social safety net for jobs must be established." He added, "Policies should broadly address wage gaps and improvements in working and living environments to encourage youth employment and long-term retention in SMEs. The paradigm of job policies should shift to focus on active support so that SMEs can play a role in employing vulnerable groups such as women and older workers and serve as a social safety net."

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