[Itaewon Tragedy] Small Business Conference and Sharing Concert... SME Events Canceled or Postponed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] As the national mourning period was declared following the large-scale disaster in Itaewon, Seoul, schedules related to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were consecutively canceled or postponed this week.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and related industries on the 31st, the '2022 Korea Small Business Conference,' which was scheduled to be held for two days on December 4-5 at KINTEX in Ilsan, is now planned to be rescheduled.

The Small Business Conference is an event that awards exemplary small business owners, contributors, and outstanding support organizations who have helped small businesses overcome adversity and maintain hope despite difficult domestic and international economic conditions.

A representative from the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business said, "Although the Small Business Conference is the biggest event of the year, we decided to postpone the schedule in observance of the national mourning period," adding, "We are coordinating the schedule with related organizations."

Earlier, the government declared a national mourning period for one week from the 30th until midnight on the 5th of next month due to the large-scale accident that occurred in Itaewon.

The Korea Federation of SMEs canceled the 'Beautiful SME Sharing Concert,' which was scheduled to be held at 5 p.m. on the 2nd at the Ayang Art Center in Dong-gu, Daegu.

Co-hosted annually 2 to 4 times by the Korea Federation of SMEs and the SME Love Sharing Foundation in various regions, this event was planned to comfort business owners exhausted by COVID-19 and to promote a culture of sharing. Recently, it was held in May at the Seoul Arts Center to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korea Federation of SMEs.

The '2022 Win-Win Growth Week Ceremony,' which the Ministry of SMEs and Startups was scheduled to hold on the 1st of next month at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, was also postponed. The exact date is yet to be determined. This ceremony was planned to encourage and award contributors to win-win growth between large and small-medium enterprises and to hold commemorative performances.

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