Naju City-KISA Partnership Achieves 2.3 Billion KRW Increase in SME Information Security Budget

Growing Concerns Over Large-Scale Data Breaches at Major Corporations
Broadening Consensus on the Need to Strengthen SME Security
Comprehensive Support from Public Institutions Relocated to the Innovation City

Naju City has successfully increased the budget for small and medium-sized enterprises' information security by 2.3 billion KRW through collaboration with the Korea Internet & Security Agency, a public institution relocated to the Innovation City. The photo shows the exterior of Naju City Hall (left) and the Korea Internet & Security Agency building (right). Provided by Jeonnam Province.

Naju City in South Jeolla Province has achieved a meaningful outcome in strengthening security capabilities at both the regional and national levels by securing an additional 2.3 billion KRW in next year's national budget for small and medium-sized enterprises' information security. This was accomplished through close cooperation with the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), a public institution relocated to the Innovation City.

On December 9, Naju City announced that, amid growing public concern over recent large-scale personal information leaks at major platform companies such as SK Telecom and Coupang, it has made every effort to secure national funding to protect small and medium-sized enterprises, which have relatively vulnerable security systems.

The city explained that this budget increase has provided a stable source of funding for the Korea Internet & Security Agency's information security projects, thereby establishing a foundation to substantially strengthen the security capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises.

In particular, during the budget review period, Naju City visited related government bodies, including the National Assembly and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, several times to actively emphasize the need for increased funding by highlighting that insufficient security systems among small and medium-sized enterprises could pose a nationwide risk.

During this process, the city presented the rationale that "since it is difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to recover from hacking incidents, national-level support is essential," which helped garner consensus among stakeholders.

Naju City's proactive administration and close collaboration with the Korea Internet & Security Agency led to a positive response from central government agencies, ultimately resulting in the 2.3 billion KRW increase in next year's information security project budget.

This case is being recognized as a representative "cooperative partnership model," in which a local government identifies the issues of relocated public institutions within its jurisdiction as shared regional challenges and works with the central government to develop solutions.

An official from Naju City stated, "With the recent series of personal information leaks, the importance of information security is being highlighted more than ever. We hope that this budget increase will serve as an opportunity to strengthen the security perimeter for small and medium-sized enterprises, and we will further enhance our collaborative framework with public institutions relocated to the Innovation City."

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