The South Korean government will seek to raise exports by small and medium-sized enterprises to $180 billion, or about 244.8 trillion won, by 2030. It plans to select 500 promising exporters each year for multiyear support and to broaden the export mix beyond consumer goods such as beauty products and fashion into industrial goods and technology services.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups discussed the plan, called the four-part innovation strategy for small-business exports, with other government agencies at the 13th national policy coordination meeting on the 3rd. Exports by small and medium-sized enterprises hit a record $120 billion last year and reached $64 billion in the first half of this year. The government aims to sustain that momentum with average annual growth of about 9%.
The first change is in how support is delivered, shifting from single-year, individual programs to multiyear packages. A new program called Global Scale-up 500 will launch next year, selecting 500 promising companies annually and setting yearly performance targets and roadmaps for each. Companies that meet their targets will automatically qualify for the next stage of support.
To spread the export growth led by K-beauty consumer goods into industrial goods and technology services, the government will also nurture what it calls K-tech strategic items. It will identify promising products for individual countries and select and support 500 companies by 2030. Working with large companies and research institutes at home and abroad, it will help firms upgrade technologies and products and run field trials in target markets. The existing K-brand strategic items program, which now focuses on consumer goods, will also be expanded.
The government will widen the list of destination markets as well. It will support entry into new markets including India, Brazil, Singapore, Europe and Mongolia to reduce reliance on China, the United States, Vietnam and Japan. "We are in talks with budget authorities to set up export support bases in India and Singapore," said Shim Jae-yoon, director general for global growth policy at the ministry.
Finally, support programs scattered across different ministries will be consolidated to make them easier for companies to use. The government also plans to enact a bill promoting overseas expansion by small and medium-sized enterprises, proposed late last year, within this year to give the policy a more stable footing.
