Minister of SMEs and Startups Han Sung-sook emphasized creating a private sector-led investment environment and expanding support for deep tech companies through inter-ministerial cooperation at a dialogue with small and medium enterprise representatives held at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday.
Approximately 170 attendees including SME executives, employees, and experts from related government ministries participated in the event.
"The most important factor in SME growth is technology that allows them to stay ahead," Han said. "Private-first investment followed by government matching support has shown high success rates, so we will expand this approach."
The ministry's TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) is the representative program where the government matches private investment. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to double the scale of TIPS-style R&D funding.
Han also pledged to establish an inter-ministerial cooperation system to support domestic deep tech companies' technology development and overseas market expansion.
"New industries are emerging in various fields including artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical bio, and climate tech, which are difficult for our ministry to support alone," she said. "We will collaborate with the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to help deep tech companies enter new markets."
To achieve this, the government will establish a Korean-style Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program and improve public procurement systems so the government can serve as the first buyer of innovative technologies.
"The government promised to become the first buyer of innovative technologies," Han said. "We will establish a system where the government absorbs market failure risks."
Han also emphasized productivity improvements at factories nationwide. "When factories improve productivity, sales and quality increase, and employment naturally rises," she said. "We will improve support methods so that smart factory adoption leads to better processes and business performance."
The ministry will also support companies seeking growth through exports. "Companies with high average sales and employment are mostly exporters," Han noted. "We will enable online export testing before offline expansion and strengthen K-brand intellectual property protection in collaboration with the Korean Intellectual Property Office."
The ministry will provide market research support and incentives for domestic companies transitioning to exports, operating differentiated export support programs by category including K-beauty and online tech services.
Additionally, the ministry plans to foster shared growth through "innovative growth," "regional preference," and "large-small business partnership" initiatives. Plans include introducing a shared growth finance index for six commercial banks, incorporating online platforms into the shared growth index, and promoting large-small business collaboration in defense, nuclear power, and climate sectors.
"We will create an ecosystem where large and small businesses can grow together," Han said. "We will support open innovation by online platforms, banks, and large corporations to achieve growth for all."