Integrated Announcement of Small Business Support Projects... Next Year's Small Business Support Budget 'Record High'

Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Comprehensive Summary of Support Projects for Small Business Owners

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 27th that it will issue an integrated announcement for small business support projects in 2025. The government budget for small business support in 2025 has been set at a record high of 5.9 trillion KRW. This integrated announcement mainly covers 23 projects across 7 sectors, totaling 817 billion KRW, focusing on Ministry of SMEs and Startups public contest projects available to prospective entrepreneurs and small business owners. The main support areas include fostering entrepreneurial small businesses, supporting small business growth, specialized support for small manufacturers, revitalizing local commercial districts, strengthening digital capabilities, easing management burdens, and supporting business recovery.

Looking at the changes in small business support projects next year, the support budget for innovative small businesses with high growth potential as small enterprises will increase by about 30 billion KRW to 83.4 billion KRW. When startup planners and VCs (venture capitalists) make pre-investments, the government will match commercialization funds up to three times. Through this, the government aims to assist small businesses in scaling up by supporting branding and global expansion.

Additionally, a new 'TOPS Program' will be introduced to discover promising small businesses and support digital capability enhancement and sales growth in cooperation with private platform companies. A new budget of 15 billion KRW will be allocated in 2025, providing one-on-one consulting and customized support for global market entry to about 3,000 small business owners.

The budget for the Hope Return Package, which helps small businesses in crisis, has increased by 93.7 billion KRW from 151.3 billion KRW this year to 245 billion KRW in 2025. It includes store demolition costs, reemployment support, and re-startup consulting, and a dedicated PM for re-startups will be established to closely support the successful re-leap of small business owners.

A new temporary project will also be implemented next year to partially support delivery and courier fees for micro small business owners with annual sales under 104 million KRW. A total budget of 203.7 billion KRW has been newly allocated. Approximately 679,000 small business owners can receive support of up to 300,000 KRW. In a situation where online consumption is increasing and delivery and courier costs are rising, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups expects this to provide practical help for the management stability of small businesses.

From 2025, the Ministry will also newly introduce a local commercial district revitalization support project to promote the independence and sustainable growth of local commercial districts. A total budget of 2 billion KRW has been allocated for 2025, and it will be operated in a consortium model where commercial district stakeholders and local governments cooperate. This will shift from the existing government-led support method to a sustainable commercial district revitalization model involving both public and private sectors.

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, "The growth of small businesses, which are the foundation of the Korean economy, is the hope of the national economy, and the government will continue to be a reliable partner for small businesses through continuous support," adding, "We will prioritize the swift execution of budgets and administrative procedures to promptly resolve the difficulties of small business owners, and at the same time, fully inform all small business owners of policy details through comprehensive promotional strategies."

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