SMEs "Certification system needs improvement due to high costs and complex procedures"

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) pointed out that the 'SME Manufacturing Certification System' requires improvement due to high costs and complicated procedures.

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced the results of the 'SME Manufacturing Certification System Survey' conducted on 300 SMEs holding various certifications on the 10th. The certification system involves qualified individuals directly evaluating or proving compliance based on third-party evaluation results to determine whether the product or subject meets the applicable evaluation criteria.

According to the survey, most companies felt burdened by the certification acquisition costs and the time required. The cost for companies to obtain new certification was most commonly between 1 million and less than 5 million KRW annually, accounting for 37.7%. Companies spending over 20 million KRW accounted for the second largest group at 24.7%. Regarding these certification costs, 79.7% of companies responded that they felt burdened.

It was found that it takes an average of 6.2 months for companies to obtain certification, and 71.0% of companies felt burdened by this duration.

The awareness and utilization rate of government support policies was low at 22.0%. The main reasons for not utilizing support policies were 'no particular need for the products manufactured' (25.4%), 'no applicable certification (policy)' (23.9%), 'lack of information' (19.4%), and 'complicated procedures' (16.4%).

The most utilized support programs by companies were 'certification cost support' (40.9%), 'consulting voucher support' (18.2%), and 'overseas certification cost support' (18.2%), in that order.

The most urgent certification system improvements identified were 'support for certification acquisition costs' (50.3%), 'simplification and standardization of documents' (35.7%), and 'reorganization of certification standards (specifications)' (11.7%).

The certifications most in need of improvement were KS Certification (43.3%), Electrical and Household Safety KC Certification (30.0%), Food HACCP (5.7%), High-Efficiency Energy Equipment Certification (5.7%), and Environmental Labeling (4.9%), in that order.

SMEs hold an average of 2.9 certifications, among which 2 to 3 are statutory voluntary certifications and 0 to 1 are statutory mandatory certifications. The most commonly held statutory voluntary certifications were KS Certification, High-Efficiency Energy Equipment Certification, Environmental Labeling, and Green Certification. The most commonly held statutory mandatory certifications were Electrical and Household Safety KC Certification, Food HACCP, and Hygiene Safety Standard KC Certification.

Regarding the number of certified product items among manufactured products, 25.7% of companies responded with one item, 23.7% had between 2 and less than 5 items, 10.7% had between 5 and less than 10 items, and 40.0% had 10 or more items.

Yang Chan-hoe, Head of the Innovation Growth Division at the Korea Federation of SMEs, stated, “The purpose of SMEs obtaining certifications is to fulfill obligations or gain extra points when supplying to public institutions, and to promote technological capabilities.” He emphasized, “While certification clearly helps secure sales channels, many companies feel burdened by the acquisition costs and duration, so support policies need to be further expanded.”

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