Korea Federation of SMEs Hosts 2025 SME Cooperative Joint Workshop

Exploring the Future Direction of Cooperative Development

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on October 30 that it will host the "2025 SME Cooperative Joint Workshop" for two days starting today, in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and 17 metropolitan governments nationwide.

This workshop, held under the theme of "Building a Regional Development and Growth Ecosystem Centered on SME Cooperatives," includes a tour of an exemplary cooperative (Yeosu Food Processing Business Cooperative), visits to outstanding member companies, and discussions on the role of local governments in revitalizing regional cooperatives. The event is designed to explore the future direction for the development of cooperatives.

The Yeosu Food Processing Business Cooperative shared its case of operating a joint wastewater treatment plant within the Yeosu Ocheon Industrial Complex, capturing and treating odor-causing substances to resolve odor issues in nearby villages, and contributing to increased sales of tenant companies through improvements to shared business facilities.

Coins, an exemplary member company of the Yeosu Plant Business Cooperative, has signed a 4 billion won agreement with Yeosu City for new plant expansion. The company is recognized as a model case for contributing to the local economy by prioritizing the hiring of Yeosu citizens and purchasing local products.

Seo Jaeyoon, Head of the Cooperative Division at the Korea Federation of SMEs, said, "True mutual growth is achieved when support from local governments leads to increased sales and productivity for local SMEs and SME cooperatives, and those results are reinvested back into the regional economy."

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