Nine SME, venture and small-business groups welcome nomination; shared keyword is 'growth'

Federation flags polarization; venture sector calls for 40 trillion won investment target; small businesses seek stability

Management innovation group warns AI competition is accelerating, urges support so SMEs are not left behind

Lee So-young, nominee for minister of SMEs and Startups, said she would go beyond supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and pour her energy into easing regulations "with the mindset of a minister of regulatory reform." Lee made the remarks as she arrived at the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs office in Yeouido, Seoul, that morning. [Ministry of SMEs and Startups]
Lee So-young, nominee for minister of SMEs and Startups, said she would go beyond supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and pour her energy into easing regulations "with the mindset of a minister of regulatory reform." Lee made the remarks as she arrived at the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs office in Yeouido, Seoul, that morning. [Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

Industry groups representing the roughly 19 million workers at South Korea's small and medium-sized enterprises have spoken with one voice to Ministry of SMEs and Startups nominee Lee So-young: make growth the priority. Their specific demands varied. The Korea Federation of SMEs put bridging the polarization that accompanies growth at the top of its list, while the venture sector called for the government to deliver on its state agenda target of 40 trillion won ($29.1 billion) in annual venture investment. Startup groups urged a policy shift toward growth, and small-business associations flagged immediate survival as the most pressing issue.

According to industry sources Monday, the Korea Federation of SMEs, the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, the Korea Venture Business Association, the Inno-Biz Association, the Korea Venture Capital Association, the Korea Women Entrepreneurs Association and the Korea Management Innovation SMEs Association (MainBiz Association), among others, all issued statements welcoming Lee's nomination after she was named as the ministry's candidate. Ministry statistics show that as of 2023, about 19.118 million people work at small and medium-sized enterprises nationwide.

The Korea Federation of SMEs, the senior voice of the SME sector, underscored resolving polarization as its top priority. The federation acknowledged Lee's efforts to improve regulations through the National Assembly startup research group "Unicorn Farm" and identified "overcoming the K-shaped polarization in growth, AI and digital transformation, and expansion into global markets" as the key challenges facing small businesses. It also said Lee has strengths in linking carbon neutrality and energy transition to competitiveness, and called on her to pursue effective SME policy through close communication with the field.

The venture business community urged the government to follow through on its state agenda commitments. The Korea Venture Business Association described Lee's nomination as "the optimal leadership to take the competitiveness of small and venture businesses to the next level at a time of rapid technological transformation," and cited the government's stated goals of making South Korea one of the world's top four venture nations and reaching 40 trillion won in annual venture investment. The association said it hopes "venture businesses and startups will firmly establish themselves as a sustainable growth engine for the South Korean economy."

Technology-driven small businesses stressed the need to restore a "growth ladder" that allows startups to climb all the way to mid-sized company status. The Inno-Biz Association said it expects Lee's nomination to serve as "a solid catalyst for injecting new vitality into the manufacturing and technology innovation ecosystem." It called in particular for restoring the growth pathway from startup to venture company to innovative SME to mid-sized enterprise. On research and development policy, the association said the government should strengthen full-cycle financial support centered on technology commercialization and outcomes, and expand support for AI and data transformation, scale-up and overseas expansion among manufacturing SMEs.

The MainBiz Association said "this is a moment when effective policy support is needed so that small and medium-sized enterprises, which are relatively short on talent and capital, are not left behind as AI reshapes the competitive landscape of industry at speed." It added that if Lee is appointed minister, it expects her "to play an important role in creating an environment where our SMEs can respond to the rapidly changing industrial landscape and in revitalizing the innovation ecosystem."

The Korea Venture Capital Association said it expects Lee to "inject new momentum into the venture investment market." Its core demands were to increase the flow of private capital into the venture investment market and to ease regulations blocking the growth of domestic venture capital firms. The association also called for revitalizing exit markets through initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions, so that capital returned to investors can be recycled into innovative companies, creating a virtuous cycle in the venture investment ecosystem.

The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, by contrast, put survival front and center. The federation said it hopes Lee will "secure continuity in small-business policy and accelerate the resolution of pressing issues," and asked her to address the prolonged slump in domestic consumption, high prices, high interest rates and the burden of rising labor and other operating costs.

Women's business groups asked that women and youth be included as full participants in the growth agenda. The Korea Women Entrepreneurs Association said "the challenge and innovation of diverse economic actors, including women and youth, matter more than ever." It identified revitalizing women's entrepreneurship, fostering innovation-driven growth among women-led businesses, and expanding market access and investment as key priorities, and called for policy support to help businesses adapt to AI, digital transformation, carbon neutrality and other shifts in the industrial environment.

Lee, born in Busan in 1985, is a 41-year-old two-term Assembly member and a lawyer who previously worked at Kim & Chang. She represents the Uiwang-Gwacheon constituency, graduated from Baeknyeong High School, holds a bachelor's degree in law from Sungkyunkwan University and completed a master's program in law at Seoul National University. The SME sector has expressed optimism that a young minister nominee in her early 40s has been named after the ministry went without a minister for about two months.


hong@heraldcorp.com