Kim Ki-moon: "Innovation in Large and Small-Medium Enterprises Strengthens Industrial Competitiveness"... Economic Community New Year's Meeting

"Now Politics Must Support the Economy" Emphasized
New Year's Meeting of the Business Community, Jointly Hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, said on the 2nd, “If large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises innovate together, the competitiveness of the entire industrial ecosystem will be strengthened.”

President Yoon Suk-yeol is cutting a rice cake cake with heads of economic organizations and company chairmen at the 2024 New Year's Meeting of the Business Community held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 2nd. From the right, Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte; Moon Woo-ri, CEO of Fortify; Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation; Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Company; Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; President Yoon; Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs; Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Ryu Jin, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business; Kang Ji-young, CEO of Roboarte; Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG.
Photo by Yonhap News

Chairman Kim stated this during the ‘2024 Economic Community New Year Meeting’ held at the KBIZ Hall of the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, in the morning. He said, “Recently, domestic and international economic analysis institutions have pointed to productivity improvement as the breakthrough for the Korean economy and diagnosed that Korea should advance to become one of the world’s top seven powers through bold policies that increase added value.”

He continued, “If the government implements killer regulatory reforms and labor reforms, I believe that ‘One Team Korea, Korea Again’ will surely be realized,” and emphasized, “Now, politics should support the economy, and businesspeople should all work together so that Korea can make a leap forward in a broader economic territory along with future generations.”

Chairman Kim also said, “Last year, our businesspeople went through a long tunnel of COVID-19, but again faced many difficulties as the global economy stagnated. However, the government has been implementing economic policies desired by the field, such as regulatory innovation and export support. The delivery payment linkage system, which small and medium-sized enterprises have long wished for, has already been adopted by more than 10,000 participating companies, and the corporate succession policy was recently finalized, giving businesspeople the strength to run again.”

He added, “The Korea Federation of SMEs has chosen ‘Unwoochangcheon’ as this year’s four-character idiom, meaning ‘When you come out from behind the clouds, a clear and blue sky appears.’ I hope this will be a year full of challenges and hope.”

The event, co-hosted with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was attended by about 400 people, including President Yoon Suk-yeol, representatives of large and small businesses, and government officials. Among the attendees were Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Ryu Jin, Chairman of the Korea Economic Association; Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association; Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation; Choi Jin-sik, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Mid-sized Enterprises; leaders of small and medium-sized enterprise-related organizations; young startup representatives; as well as Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Company; Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG; and Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte. From the government, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Young-joo, and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Bang Moon-kyu also participated.

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