Korea Federation of SMEs chief addresses controversies over upcoming leadership election

Five prospective candidates skipped leaders forum over early campaigning concerns

Kim emphasizes competence and unity as key qualities for next chief

Rules out running again in four years

Korea Federation of SMEs Chairman Kim Ki-moon speaks with reporters at the 2026 SME Leaders Forum held at Lotte Hotel Jeju on Thursday. [Korea Federation of SMEs]
Korea Federation of SMEs Chairman Kim Ki-moon speaks with reporters at the 2026 SME Leaders Forum held at Lotte Hotel Jeju on Thursday. [Korea Federation of SMEs]

Korea Federation of SMEs Chairman Kim Ki-moon said the decision to move up the date of next year's federation leadership election was made to allow time for a proper handover, pushing back against allegations that the change was designed to benefit a favored candidate.

Kim addressed a range of controversies surrounding the upcoming election for the federation's next chairman at the 2026 SME Leaders Forum held in Jeju on Thursday.

The Korea Federation of SMEs is scheduled to hold the election for its 28th chairman on Feb. 2 next year. The vote, previously held at the regular general assembly in late February, has been moved to an extraordinary general assembly, and the campaigning period has been extended from 20 days to 30 days. The changes prompted allegations that the earlier date was timed to allow some cooperative heads closely aligned with Kim — whose terms have not yet expired — to cast votes, potentially tilting the race in favor of a candidate friendly to the incumbent.

"Under the old schedule, the election was held in late February and the new chairman took office in March right away, leaving no time for a handover," Kim said. "Moving the election up was meant to create that transition period."

He added that the Korea Federation of SMEs is the only one among the six major economic organizations whose chairman election is governed by law, and that the campaigning period was extended by 10 days to better protect voters' right to information.

Kim also addressed the controversy over prospective candidates' absence from the leaders forum.

Five figures are currently mentioned as likely candidates for the next federation chairmanship: Kang Dong-han, chairman of the Korea Forging Industry Cooperative; Park Jang-sun, chairman of the Korea Printing Cooperative Federation; Shim Seung-il, chairman of the Korea High Pressure Gas Industry Cooperative Federation; Lee Min-hyung, chairman of the Jungbu Hume Pipe Business Cooperative; and Lee Jae-gwang, chairman of the Korea Electric Energy Industry Cooperative.

Four of the five — Kang, Park, Shim and Lee Jae-gwang — currently serve as vice chairmen of the Korea Federation of SMEs. Among them, Kang is widely regarded as Kim's most trusted associate and the frontrunner carrying Kim's implicit backing in the race. Official candidate registration has not yet begun, but behind-the-scenes competition for the post is already under way.

The five had been expected to attend the leaders forum, which brings together cooperative heads from across the country, but stayed away at the federation's request.

The forum draws a large number of cooperative heads nationwide and offers prospective candidates a rare opportunity to meet eligible voters ahead of the election. Their absence raised questions about fairness in access to campaigning opportunities.

"That was not my decision alone — it was discussed broadly, including at the board level," Kim said. "Campaigning now could be considered illegal pre-election activity."

He added that he had met with each of the prospective candidates individually, explained the concern and suggested they skip the forum, and that all of them agreed.

'The chairmanship is not about prestige — pick someone who can get things done'

Kim said the next federation chairman should above all be capable and able to lead with a spirit of unity.

"An election is a cold-eyed verdict — it comes down to who gets the most votes," he said. "What I want to say is: this time, choose someone who can actually get the work done."

He also reflected on his own experience running for the chairmanship. "The second time I ran, I didn't even get to meet all the cooperative heads because time was short, yet I still won by 60 to 70 votes," Kim said. "When I analyzed why I won, I think it was because people believed I would be good at the job."

While emphasizing the importance of competence, he mentioned three or four members of the current leadership as potential contenders, but said whether they would go on to formally register as candidates remains to be seen.

"The cooperative heads who are eligible to vote mostly know what the candidates are like," Kim said. "They can compare things like whether a person built their business from scratch, and what kind of results they achieved in exports, sales and overall management."

He went on to say that character also matters. "You have to look at whether someone can bring people together and move things forward," he said.

Kim stressed that the federation chairmanship should be focused on improving policy and the regulatory regime for small and medium-sized enterprises, not on prestige. "The chairman is a non-standing, elected position with almost no direct authority over federation operations apart from personnel matters," he said. "The most important thing is improving policy and the system for small businesses."

"We have worked through major issues one by one — the supply-price linkage system, business succession, the cartel problem in cooperatives," he added. "Building those outcomes is what matters. This is not a position for striking poses."

Kim also shared his thoughts on the likelihood that the forum marks his last major event as chairman.

"Comparing where things stood when I first came to the federation in 2007 with where they are now, there has been quite a lot of change," he said. "After 16 years, I think the time has come to step away."

Asked whether he might run again in four years, Kim drew a line. "I may come back to visit, but not to work," he said.

Kim was first elected federation chairman in 2007 and served two terms through 2015. He was elected again in 2019 and won re-election in 2023, and is currently serving his fourth term. When his term ends in February next year, he will have led the federation for a total of 16 years.


boo@heraldcorp.com