'One Team Council' Held for SMEs and Ventures Entering Vietnam

Minister Oh Young-joo Participates in Overseas Local Coordination Meeting
Listens to Small Business Difficulties and Discusses Support Measures

Oh Young-joo, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, participated in the 'One-Team Consultative Body for Supporting SMEs at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam' held at the Korean Ambassador's residence in Vietnam on the 27th, where she listened to the difficulties faced by local SMEs and discussed support measures.

Based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in April between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a One-Team Consultative Body for SME support is being operated at 25 overseas diplomatic missions where there is high demand for Korean companies' market entry, to resolve difficulties faced by SMEs and support their global market expansion.

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is discussing support measures for small and medium enterprises with Choi Young-sam of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam at the 'Overseas Diplomatic Missions Meeting to Support the Globalization of SMEs and Startups' held at the Ambassador's residence in Vietnam on the 27th. (Photo by Ministry of SMEs and Startups)

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam also formed a consultative body including support organizations such as the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, Korea Federation of SMEs, KOTRA, and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, as well as financial institutions and local companies. The first meeting was held on May 8, where inter-agency SME support programs and collaboration plans were exchanged.

This meeting was the third quarter regular meeting of the consultative body established at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam, arranged to coincide with Minister Oh Young-joo’s visit to Vietnam and to hear the voices of companies interested in entering the Vietnamese market and local SME support organizations.

The meeting was held in a relaxed atmosphere as a dinner meeting hosted by the Korean Ambassador to Vietnam. Along with the current status of the consultative body’s operations, active discussions took place regarding various issues faced by SMEs trying to enter the Vietnamese market and cooperation plans among local institutions. Companies selected as part of the K-Innovation Delegation visiting Vietnam also shared their plans and difficulties related to market entry in Vietnam.

The participating companies stated, “SMEs lack the capacity to conduct business activities overseas, and support organizations are dispersed, making it a challenging situation. However, having a dedicated SME support window at overseas diplomatic missions is a great help,” and they requested, “We hope that overseas diplomatic missions will continue to show active interest in SMEs.”

Minister Oh, who participated in the consultative body meeting held locally for the first time since the establishment of SME support consultative bodies at major overseas diplomatic missions, directly listened to the vivid voices from the field and urged that the embassies continue to work hard for Korean SMEs.

Minister Oh stated, “The Vietnamese market is very active for our SMEs to enter, but on the other hand, it is a reality that companies face many difficulties such as lack of information and forming networks with local governments and institutions,” and added, “Through this consultative body, we ask various institutions operating locally to cooperate and strive for the successful entry and local settlement of SMEs.”

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