Ministry of SMEs and Startups "Supporting Exporting SMEs... Resolving Logistics Issues, Assisting Online Sales Channels"

Deputy Minister Kang Sung-cheon Announces Export Support Plan

Kang Sung-cheon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is giving a briefing on the second rapid payment of the Hope Recovery Fund on the 30th at the briefing room of the Seoul Government Complex Annex in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government will help resolve logistics difficulties faced by export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and support the expansion of online sales channels.

Kang Sung-chun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, announced the 2021 export performance of SMEs and export support plans on the 20th at the Government Seoul Office.

Despite the global logistics crisis and prolonged COVID-19 pandemic last year, SME exports surpassed the $110 billion mark for the first time ever, achieving a new record of $117.1 billion. The export growth rate reached 16.2% compared to the previous year, marking the first time since statistics began in 2010 that the export growth rate exceeded 10%.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to make multifaceted efforts to help SMEs sustain this export momentum.

Since the global logistics crisis is the biggest challenge for export SMEs, the government will focus all efforts on resolving logistics difficulties.

First, the logistics voucher budget has been expanded to allow continuous applications and a rapid payment process within one month after application.

In collaboration with the national shipping company HMM, dedicated shipping space for SMEs will be provided, and support will be given for signing long-term shipping contracts that allow the use of maritime logistics at fixed freight rates. Express logistics costs from courier companies such as Fedex and DHL can also be discounted by up to 66%.

Additionally, export SMEs will be supported according to their growth stages, focusing on business expansion of export companies, including increasing the number of companies exporting over $10 million.

The export voucher, which supports 13 types of overseas marketing services, has been unified from 10 fields into 5 fields by growth stage to help build a growth ladder for SMEs.

In the second half of the year, support measures will be prepared to help promising companies that have high market shares or are expected to grow rapidly to secure global markets.

For startups’ global expansion, the K-Startup Center will provide local acceleration programs and expand opportunities for local demonstration projects in collaboration with global companies.

Promising consumer goods such as K-Beauty and K-Food, which are key export items, as well as pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, will receive focused support. By collaborating with content companies and home shopping companies, promising consumer goods like cosmetics and food will be able to expand into the global market, and 110 additional national representative joint brands under 'Brand K' will be discovered.

K-Bio and new industry companies will be given preferential treatment in the export voucher program, and support will be provided from connecting overseas buyers to contract aftercare through B2B platforms.

Support will be provided for entry into global shopping malls such as Amazon and TikTok, and live commerce will be operated year-round to enhance promotional effects.

Support for building own shopping malls will be further strengthened, and fulfillment support?which provides one-stop services for warehousing, packaging, and delivery for online export companies?will be expanded threefold compared to last year.

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