Jungjin-gong, Organizational Restructuring Focused on 'Digital, Regional Industry, and Social Safety Net Innovation'

2021 Organizational Restructuring... Strengthening Support for Innovative Growth of Small and Venture Businesses in the Post-Corona Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Small and Medium Business Corporation (Chairman Kim Hak-do, hereinafter referred to as SBC) announced on the 9th that through the organizational restructuring in 2021, it will systematically respond to the rapid economic environment changes in the post-COVID-19 era and strengthen the support system for innovative growth of small and medium enterprises to achieve policy outcomes.

On the 100th day since Chairman Kim Hak-do's inauguration in August, SBC presented "Digital Innovation, Regional Industry Innovation, and Social Safety Net Innovation" as the three major management innovation plans. Since then, from September, after collecting internal staff opinions, conducting interviews, and consulting external experts, the organization restructuring plan to enhance the driving force of the three innovation tasks was finalized.

First, to promote the smartization and digital transformation of small and medium enterprises, the Diagnostic Technology Division will be expanded and reorganized into the Smart Diagnostic Technology Division, and support for key new industry sectors such as smart factories and the Fourth Industrial Revolution fields will be expanded. Additionally, a Policy Research Office will be newly established to strengthen big data-based strategy formulation and policy research functions, and it will be operated in connection with the Digital Innovation Office, which was newly established in July this year, to enhance post-COVID-19 policy responsiveness. To support this, strategic, research, and data operation personnel will be supplemented in each business headquarters. Furthermore, to cultivate leading personnel in the digital economy and experts in smart manufacturing, the Chungcheong Training Institute will be newly opened in Cheonan, Chungnam.

A Regional Industry Growth Division will also be newly established to foster regional innovative companies. Dedicated teams within regional headquarters will be expanded and reorganized to take the lead in creating concrete policy outcomes through one-stop support for regulatory free zones and linkage with the Korean New Deal. In addition, to build a social safety net, a Structural Improvement Center will be established to carry out new projects for proactive autonomous structural improvement programs and strengthen support for the business normalization of small and medium enterprises facing temporary management crises.

SBC also plans to strengthen on-site responsiveness by deploying 54 personnel secured through workforce operation efficiency to 32 regional headquarters nationwide. Based on this, it will expand customized linked support by region and industry and improve convenience for policy users. Chairman Kim Hak-do said, "The 2021 organizational restructuring laid the foundation to support small and medium enterprises in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and achieving innovative growth in the post-COVID-19 era," adding, "SBC will leap forward as a specialized institution for SME innovation through the three major innovations and regional-centered business paradigm shift, systematically supporting the government's policy objectives."

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