Korea SMEs and Startups Agency - Ministry of Economy and Finance Joint 'SME Express' Launches First in Daejeon

Visiting Small and Medium Enterprises to Listen to and Improve On-site Difficulties

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz), together with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, announced that on the 5th, they held the '1st SME Express' at the Kbiz Daejeon-Sejong-Chungnam Regional Headquarters located in Daejeon.

SME Express was created following a meeting on January 11 between Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok and small business owners, where Kbiz and the Ministry of Economy and Finance agreed to form a regular consultative body to visit small and medium enterprises nationwide and address their difficulties. This day marked the first session.

(From the front row, third from the left) Hong Duseon, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Jeong Yunmo, Executive Vice President of the Korea Federation of SMEs, are taking a commemorative photo at the 1st meeting of the 'SME Express.' Photo by Korea Federation of SMEs

From the government side, attendees included Deputy Vice Minister Hong Du-seon of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Policy Coordination Officer Joo Hwan-wook, and Small Business Policy Officer Park Jong-chan from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. From the SME sector, about 10 representatives from small and medium ventures and startups participated, including Kbiz Senior Vice Chairman Jeong Yun-mo, Gaschem Technology CEO Cho Chang-hyun, Toye Ceramics CEO Gil Soon-jung, Bio Orchestra CEO Ryu Jin-hyup, and EBio CEO Yoon Jin-won.

Daejeon plays a crucial role in creating future growth engines with institutions such as Daedeok Research Complex and KAIST. It is a city where industrial competitiveness can be enhanced through collaboration with local SMEs. The consultative body focused on this characteristic by centering on youth enterprises and technology startups to convey voices from the field.

Main topics discussed on-site included: expanding support for venture and startup activation; easing qualification restrictions for government projects considering the characteristics of the bio industry; revising regulations for the rational storage of non-toxic gas charging containers; and regulatory improvements to facilitate smooth factory relocation and investment activation, among 10 topics in total.

Jeong Yun-mo, Senior Vice Chairman of Kbiz, stated, “Many of the on-site voices today expressed difficulties regarding deregulation for local SMEs and labor shortages,” adding, “Since the Ministry of Economy and Finance took direct action, we expect the issues to be resolved swiftly and positively.”

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