Deputy PM Lee Hyung-il, Vice Minister Lee Byung-kwon visit Mokdong Haengbokan Department Store

Officials inspect event site, encourage participating SMEs and small business owners

Record-scale consumer festival draws some 40,000 firms, runs through Nov. 15

Lee Byung-kwon, second vice minister of SMEs and Startups. [Ministry of SMEs and Startups]
Lee Byung-kwon, second vice minister of SMEs and Startups. [Ministry of SMEs and Startups]

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is working to expand sales channels for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners and to stimulate domestic consumption through the Korea Grand Festival, known as Kogpe.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il and Ministry of SMEs and Startups Second Vice Minister Lee Byung-kwon visited Haengbokan Department Store in Seoul's Mokdong on Friday to inspect the "Happy Inventory Discount Sale" event and encourage participating SMEs and small business owners.

Haengbokan Department Store is a policy-backed retail outlet established to support SMEs and small business owners with quality products who struggle to find distribution channels. The Happy Inventory Discount Sale, held during this year's Korea Grand Festival, was designed to give consumers the chance to purchase products at reasonable prices while helping SMEs and small business owners clear inventory and expand their sales reach.

Lee Byung-kwon and Lee Hyung-il toured the store floor, examining planned and surplus products ranging from clothing to household goods. They also made purchases themselves and spoke with shoppers to hear firsthand feedback.

"Recent improvements in exports and investment are helping lay the groundwork for an economic recovery, but what matters most is ensuring that the warmth of that growth reaches deep into every corner of neighborhood commercial districts and the everyday lives of our fellow citizens," Lee Hyung-il said.

Lee Byung-kwon described the Korea Grand Festival as "the country's largest sale event, with some 40,000 private companies participating, from large conglomerates to SMEs and small business owners." He added that the ministry would do its utmost to make it "a consumer festival everyone can enjoy — bringing the pleasure of smart spending to the public, the joy of increased sales to merchants, and fresh energy to local communities."

Lee also expressed hope that "the kind of savvy, supportive spending seen at Haengbokan Department Store's Happy Inventory Discount Sale will spread nationwide as a meaningful boost for SMEs and small business owners."

Now in its second year, the Korea Grand Festival runs for 18 days from Oct. 29 through Nov. 15, with about 40,000 companies — from large conglomerates to SMEs and small business owners — taking part, making it the largest consumer festival of its kind.

The event particularly focuses on channeling improvements in key economic indicators, such as exports and capital investment, into private consumption and neighborhood commercial districts. The government aims to lower the financial burden on consumers through large-scale discount events while encouraging SMEs and small business owners to grow their sales.


boo@heraldcorp.com