Ministry of SMEs Establishes 60 Centers for Receiving SME Damage Reports from Ukraine Crisis... Close Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is launching 60 centers to closely monitor and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the Ukraine crisis.

On the 2nd, the Ministry announced that it will establish 60 "Ukraine Crisis SME Damage Reporting Centers" by institution and region.

Ukraine has been resisting Russia's invasion since the 23rd of last month, now in its seventh day of conflict. The United States and European countries have announced strong economic sanctions, including export bans on strategic goods and removal from SWIFT, and our government has decided to join these measures and is currently discussing specific details.

SMEs are facing various difficulties such as lack of information on export control items, inability to receive payments, and logistics delays. There is a need for an on-site, close-response system to resolve these issues promptly.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A total of 60 SME damage reporting centers will be established by institution and region. SMEs in need of assistance can report difficulties and request support via phone or email at any center they prefer.

The reported damage situations and requests will be forwarded to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' headquarters response team, where they will be classified into Ministry support projects and inter-ministerial cooperation projects.

Ministry projects will be promptly supported by institutions with effective means such as export and finance, while inter-ministerial cooperation projects will be linked to a government-wide task force (TF) for resolution.

An official from the Ministry stated, "SMEs with a high export ratio to Russia and Ukraine will be classified as special management targets and will be provided with services such as the latest information updates."

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