Choi Sang-mok "Mid-sized Business Growth Ladder Establishment Plan to be Announced in the First Half of the Year"

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, announced on the 15th that he will announce the '(tentative name) Small and Medium Enterprise Growth Ladder Establishment Plan' in the first half of the year to ensure that benefits are not drastically reduced after small and medium enterprises grow into mid-sized companies.

On the 15th, Deputy Prime Minister Choi presided over an expert meeting at the Government Seoul Office to discuss the Small and Medium Enterprise Growth Ladder Establishment Plan, stating, "We will make every policy effort to ensure that small and medium enterprises can become a key axis in realizing a dynamic economy."

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced in the 2024 Economic Policy Direction released last month that it plans to prepare a 'Dynamic Economy Realization Roadmap' within the first half of this year, and has been gathering opinions from various sectors, including holding a research institute forum for realizing a dynamic economy at the Korea Development Institute (KDI) on the 12th of last month, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.

This meeting was also part of gathering opinions to prepare the Dynamic Economy Realization Roadmap. Experts attending the meeting shared the recognition that the productivity of Korean small and medium enterprises is lower compared to large and mid-sized companies, and that the operation of the small and medium enterprise growth ladder is insufficient.

As the cause, they pointed out that existing support is cut off or reduced when small and medium enterprises grow into mid-sized companies, while support for the growth of mid-sized companies is insufficient, leading to a 'Peter Pan syndrome' where companies hesitate to grow. They also noted that current government support for small and medium enterprises is insufficient in selecting companies with growth potential and providing incentives for growth.

In response, Deputy Prime Minister Choi announced that he will announce the Small and Medium Enterprise Growth Ladder Establishment Plan in the first half of the year, which includes measures to gradually adjust support so that tax, fiscal, and regulatory special cases are not drastically reduced after growing from small and medium enterprises to mid-sized companies, aiming to encourage active growth of small and medium enterprises.

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