Korea Federation of SMEs Supports Cooperative Group Standard Consulting... 'Up to 20 Million KRW'

A Total of 101 Group Standards Established Since 2017
Applications Accepted Until May 20

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on the 28th that it is calling for applications for the ‘2024 Cooperative Group Standard Establishment Consulting Support Project’ to expand joint projects based on cooperative group standards.

Kim Ki-moon, President of the Korea Federation of SMEs
Photo by Yonhap News

This project provides expert consulting cost support to cooperatives that need to establish group standards but face difficulties due to cost burdens and lack of internal capabilities. Over the past seven years since 2017, a total of 101 group standards have been established to meet the industry's standardization demands. Last year’s projects included IoT in smart agriculture, natural stone and boundary stones, road markings, and lithium-ion battery recycling.

The support target is small and medium-sized enterprise cooperatives established under the Small and Medium Enterprise Cooperative Act. If cooperatives of the same industry are organized regionally, support is limited to industry federations. In principle, one group standard establishment per cooperative is supported, with up to KRW 20 million including a 30% cooperative self-payment.

Cooperatives wishing to participate in the project can apply through the Group Standard Certification Comprehensive Support System by the 20th of next month or visit the Korea Federation of SMEs Group Standard Team to submit the required documents. Submitted projects will undergo evaluation by the selection committee and contract signing, after which the group standard establishment work will proceed for about five months from June to October.

Yang Chan-hoe, Head of the Innovation Growth Headquarters at the Korea Federation of SMEs, said, “We hope that through this consulting support project, cooperatives will lead the market’s demand for standards and quality improvement. Once group standards are established and operated, cooperatives can utilize systems such as the ‘Small Enterprise Joint Project Product Priority Purchase System’ and ‘Multiple Supplier Contracts for Goods,’ which we expect will provide an opportunity for industry-specific cooperatives to contribute to expanding sales channels for small and medium enterprises.”

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