Kwon Chil-seung: "Actively Introduce Incentives to Ensure ESG Management Does Not Burden Small and Medium Enterprises"

Ministry of SMEs and Startups Holds ESG Meeting for Small and Medium Enterprises

Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We plan to actively cooperate with the private sector to improve awareness and introduce incentive measures so that SMEs and startups do not perceive ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) as a burden."

On the 8th, Minister Kwon held a meeting with representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises interested in ESG management at the Chamber Lounge of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul.

This meeting was organized to hear the opinions of the SME sector on ESG, which has recently emerged domestically and internationally as social demands for corporate sustainable management have expanded.

Recently, ESG has been influencing not only large corporations but also SME management, such as evaluating ESG levels when selecting partners. However, for SMEs struggling due to COVID-19, ESG has become a new burden.

At the meeting, SMEs conveyed difficulties they experience in promoting ESG management on the ground and freely presented policy suggestions to the government.

Minister Kwon expressed his intention to introduce ESG incentives, saying, "Please consider together with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Korea Federation of SMEs so that SMEs, not just partners, can receive ESG promotion support from large corporations."

An official from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "We plan to fully convey industry opinions to related ministries and reflect them in policies so that ESG does not end as a temporary trend but emerges as a measure for sustainable growth in the post-COVID era."

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