Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Ministry of Science and ICT Support Digital Transformation for Small Business Owners

Business Agreement Signed to Strengthen Small Business Capabilities

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Science and ICT will support the enhancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital capabilities for small business owners.

On the 17th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that they signed a business agreement at the Small Business Digital Education Center to support small business owners.

Although digital technology is rapidly being introduced across the economy and society recently, the level of digital technology adoption and utilization capabilities among small business owners remain low compared to large corporations and platform operators. Accordingly, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Science and ICT have strengthened mutual cooperation to support the adoption of technology, digital transformation, and capability enhancement of small business owners, who are the foundation of our economy, based on science, technology, and digital innovation, aiming to stabilize livelihoods and contribute to the growth of small business owners.

This business cooperation will be promoted mainly in three areas: ▲promotion of digitalization for small business owners ▲support for enhancing digital capabilities ▲support for business activities. To smoothly carry out inter-ministerial cooperation, a minister-level ‘Small Business AI and Digital Policy Council’ will be formed, and practical councils for each major field will be established to provide robust support to the field of small business owners.

First, various supports will be expanded to promote the digitalization of small business owners who want to incorporate digital technology into their business activities such as management efficiency and service advancement. The scope of benefits for small business owners will be expanded for government-supported vouchers such as data and AI vouchers to facilitate the smooth adoption and utilization of data, AI technology, and digital devices. Additionally, the Small Business 365 (big data platform) for commercial area analysis and management diagnosis will be advanced, and an AI service providing customized government support information for small business owners will be developed and distributed.

To raise awareness of AI and digital technologies among small business owners and strengthen their capabilities, educational content related to digital new technologies from both ministries will be linked and expanded to encourage participation by small business owners. Furthermore, a small business owner?government research institute technical support cooperation system will be gradually established to solve technical problems of small business owners by utilizing technologies, personnel, budgets, and equipment possessed by government research institutes. Synergistic effects are expected through inter-ministerial cooperation such as developing kiosks to improve accessibility for small business owners (Ministry of Science and ICT) and distributing them (Ministry of SMEs and Startups).

Support for business activities such as cost reduction and market development for small business owners will also be expanded. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is currently conducting the large-scale consumption promotion event ‘Donghaeng Festival’ from December 1 to 28. During the event period, the Ministry of Science and ICT (Korea Post) will temporarily discount domestic delivery fees for participating small business owners to reduce delivery costs, and will promote the application of additional preferential interest rates to Korea Post regular savings products for small business owners enrolled in the ‘Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid’ program. Additionally, AI-based online customer centers will be developed and supported, and online advertising dispute mediation will be strengthened.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, “Strengthening the digital capabilities of small business owners is expected to alleviate their management burdens and promote growth,” adding, “I hope the cooperative platform for small business owners will continue to expand, and if both ministries create synergy, they will be able to provide even greater assistance to small business owners.”

Yoo Sang-im, Minister of Science and ICT, stated, “Since the application of AI and digital technologies is no longer optional but essential, we will actively cooperate with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to support the digital transformation and capability enhancement of small business owners, who are the foundation of livelihoods.”

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