<기사제목>Ministry of SMEs and Startups Aims to Achieve 200,000 Disabled-Owned Businesses and 100 Trillion Won in Sales

Announcement of the "5-Year Basic Plan to Promote Activities of Disabled Enterprises"
Continuous Support Planned by Life Cycle
Reorganization of Local Services and Strengthening of Governance

The government has decided to increase the sales of 장애인기업 (disabled-owned enterprises) to 100 trillion won by 2028. This means supporting an additional 25 trillion won in sales from approximately 75 trillion won as of 2022. The goal is to reach 200,000 enterprises.

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is taking a commemorative photo after touring the facility of 'Asan Gachimandso,' a specialized workplace for people with developmental disabilities established in Asan City, Chungnam, on May 28.
[Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the ‘1st Five-Year Basic Plan for Promoting Disabled-Owned Enterprise Activities’ on the 9th. Disabled-owned enterprises are companies owned or managed by disabled persons, with at least 30% of regular employees being disabled. Initially, the ministry formulated the basic plan annually, but from this year, the planning and announcement cycle changed to five years, establishing a mid- to long-term strategy to be implemented until 2028.

The vision of the 1st basic plan is ‘Realizing true productive welfare encompassing the economy and welfare of disabled persons.’ This means establishing a virtuous cycle where disabled-owned enterprises create jobs for disabled individuals. The plan sets targets of 200,000 disabled-owned enterprises, 100 trillion won in sales, and 700,000 employees working in disabled-owned enterprises. As of 2022, there were 164,660 disabled-owned enterprises, with sales of 75.1 trillion won and 544,840 employees.

To achieve this, support will be provided throughout the lifecycle of disabled-owned enterprises, including startup, growth, and re-advancement. Entrepreneurship will be supported for disabled students, youth, and elderly generations, and the preferential purchase rate of products from disabled-owned enterprises will be increased from the current 1% to 2%. The establishment of a dedicated growth fund for disabled-owned enterprises will also be pursued. Additionally, online re-startup education and business commercialization funding will help support re-advancement.

To improve the business environment for the increasing number of severely disabled entrepreneurs, a new manpower support service will be introduced for one-person severely disabled business owners without employees. Digital gaps will be addressed through the installation of electronic braille solutions and the supply of assistive technology devices. For persons with developmental disabilities, the ‘Gachimanduso’ program, which provides education on basic knowledge and skills needed for entrepreneurship as well as sales opportunities, will be continuously expanded. After graduating from Gachimanduso, support will be provided for expanding sales channels and product promotion through cooperation with local governments.

To enhance policy efficiency and satisfaction, regional services will be reorganized and governance strengthened. Outstanding enterprises will be selected by region to foster leading disabled-owned enterprises, and startup training centers offering entrepreneurship training programs tailored to disability types will be established. CEO roundtable meetings will be held according to the enterprise lifecycle to facilitate exchange and communication among disabled-owned enterprises, and awards will be given to institutions, organizations, and individuals who have contributed to fostering disabled-owned enterprises.

The policy foundation, including laws and systems, will also be newly revised. For disabled-owned enterprises in retail and wholesale, the interpretation of laws will be clarified so that public procurement achievements can be recognized not only for directly produced goods but also for supplied goods. Furthermore, a data-driven performance management system will be established, and inter-ministerial statistical data linkage will be strengthened to support enterprise growth.

Kim Seong-seop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “This basic plan is expected to activate entrepreneurship and business activities of disabled persons, contributing to the improvement of their social and economic quality of life.” He added, “The ministry plans to fully support the responsible implementation of the basic plan so that disabled-owned enterprises in the field can feel the results.”

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