[REVISION HISTORY]

South Korea SME support restructuring and startup expansion

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2026-09-18 00:05 UTC → 2026-09-21 20:12 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The South Korean government is implementing a major restructuring of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) support programs to enhance budget efficiency. Out of 671 existing programs across 22 ministries, the government plans to optimize 472, including the consolidation or reduction of 232 programs. This initiative aims to save approximately 4 trillion won by merging overlapping initiatives and eliminating low-performance or fragmented projects. These savings will be reinvested into high-performance core sectors, such as bio-pharmaceuticals, climate tech, new security, and K-consumer goods. The government intends to identify 300 innovative companies in these sectors annually, offering up to 10 billion won per company over five years for R&D, financing, and exports. Simultaneously, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is expanding the ‘Everyone’s Startup Project’. The second phase, which doubled its recruitment target to 10,000 participants, saw a record 92,838 applicants. While applications increased by nearly 30,000 compared to the first phase, the competition rate decreased from 12.6:1 to 9.3:1. This second recruitment phase saw a 47.5% increase in total applications over the initial round, despite a shorter 29-day recruitment period. Demographic data indicates a broadening ecosystem: applicants from non-metropolitan areas rose to 63.3%, and youth (aged 39 or younger) comprised 71.8% of applicants. Additionally, 20.6% of participants were re-applicants from the first round. To support this growth, the Ministry has launched the ‘Everyone’s Startup Community’ to foster collaboration ~~between prospective entrepreneurs, early-stage founders, and mentors. This community includes~~ through ‘Clubs with Seniors’, ~~where approximately 60 veteran entrepreneurs from companies like Elice, T-order, and Glow Seoul serve as leaders, and~~ ‘Clubs Made ~~Together’ for peer feedback. The initiative aims~~ Together’, and regional events, aiming to transition from isolated problem-solving toward a collaborative ~~ecosystem, supported by planned budget increases for next year to foster next-generation innovators.~~ ecosystem.

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