Korea Federation of SMEs Discusses Identifying Fair Trade Agenda for SMEs

The 2nd Fair Trade Promotion Committee Meeting of 2025 Held

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on December 11 that it held the "2nd Fair Trade Promotion Committee Meeting of 2025."

This committee was established to discuss ways to improve unfair trade practices between large corporations and SMEs, as well as to promote mutual cooperation. The meeting was attended by Chairman Chung Hanseong of the Korea Fastener Industry Cooperative Association, who serves as the committee chair, along with 15 members representing various industry cooperatives, academia, the legal community, and research institutes.

During the committee meeting, participants shared updates on the following topics: the status of legislative improvements and on-site implementation of the supply price indexation system; progress in institutional reforms in the field of fair trade; and examples of mutual cooperation between large corporations and SMEs. In addition, discussions were held to identify agenda items for fair trade system improvements in 2026.

The committee members evaluated that, since the inauguration of the current administration, significant progress has been made in establishing a fair market order between large corporations and SMEs through policy and institutional efforts. These include the amendment of the Win-Win Cooperation Act to expand the application of the supply price indexation system to cover energy costs, and the announcement by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups of measures to eradicate technology theft from SMEs.

However, the members agreed that it is crucial to continuously gather feedback from the SME sector during the process of developing systems so that these initiatives can function as practical policies suitable for SMEs on the ground. Chairman Chung Hanseong stated, "With the integration of platforms, technologies, and services, the business environment between large corporations and SMEs is becoming increasingly complex and is changing at a faster pace," and "the committee will take the lead in proactively identifying unfair practices as experienced by SMEs, devising system improvement measures based on the realities faced by SMEs, and making concrete policy recommendations to the government and the National Assembly."

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