Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu Introduces the New Administration’s SME Policies at an OECD Conference
- Division
- 국제협력담당관
- Date
- 2018.03.14
- Writer
- 소지혜
- File
- Headline
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Minister Hong Jonghaak) sent a delegation led by Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu to the 3rd OECD SME Ministerial Conference (February 22~23, 2018, Mexico City). According to an announcement made on February 23 (local time), the Deputy Minister expounded on the general direction of the new administration’s economic policies for “job and income-led growth and innovative growth,” and drew a positive response from other delegations at the conference.
Held 14 years after the 2nd conference in 2004, this year’s conference was attended by around 300 delegates from member states and international organizations including the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister; the Minister of Police, Fisheries, Revenue, and Small Business of New Zealand; and representatives from the World Bank. The main topic of the 2018 conference was “Strengthening SMEs and Entrepreneurship for Productivity and Inclusive Growth.” The specific topics discussed by the ministers and high-level representatives at the conference included enabling SMEs to scale up, enhancing SMEs’ access to diversified financing instruments, fostering greater SME participation in a globally integrated economy, monitoring and evaluating SME and entrepreneurship programs, and developing entrepreneurial competencies.
In Plenary Session 1, which was held under the topic “Enabling SMEs to Scale Up,” the participants discussed effective policies to scale up start-ups and SMEs, and remove barriers to their growth, as well as other ways to promote the adoption and use of digital technologies. They agreed to adopt and spread innovative digital technologies, and foster a favorable environment for investments in knowledge properties and digital security so that SMEs can fully utilize the opportunities presented by the transition to a digital economy. Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu, who was a senior member of the Korean delegation, was a lead speaker for the session. The other lead speakers of the session included Slovakia Finance Minister Peter Ka?imir, and Minister Pat Breen of Ireland’s Ministry of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection. Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu expounded on the establishment of the new Ministry of SMEs and Startups, which the newly elected administration has set up to shift the center of the nation’s economy from large corporations to SMEs. He also proposed strengthening cooperation at the OECD level to promote the growth of SMEs and spread entrepreneurship. The deputy minister explained the general direction of the new administration’s economic policies for “job and income?led growth and innovative growth,” and spoke about Korea’s past success with its SME policies such as the Tech Incubator Program for startup Korea(TIPS) and the Youth Tomorrow Filling Aid, drawing considerable interest from the attendees.
Plenary Session 2 discussed the issue of “enhancing SME access to diversified financing instruments.” The participants agreed to enhance the access of SMEs and entrepreneurs to appropriate financing instruments through measures such as complying with the “G20/OECD High-Level Principles on SME Financing.” In the session, Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu spoke about Korea’s approach to enhancing SMEs’ access to digital financing instruments such as crowdfunding and the “Policy Grants for Companies Taking the First Step” program.
The participants of Plenary Session 3 discussed ways for “fostering greater SME participation in a globally integrated economy.” The participants agreed on the importance of further integrating the global value chains of SMEs across the world, and building local ecosystems, networks, and clusters to enhance their competitiveness. In light of these imperatives, the ministers and delegates agreed to reinforce cooperation among the incubators, accelerators, SME support centers, and export support centers in the SME policy networks. In the session, Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu introduced the Korean government’s export support policies tailored to SMEs with different levels of export capabilities and its programs to promote SME participation in the online international trade and help SMEs make investments outside Korea.
The deputy minister also attended the Parallel Sessions on “monitoring and evaluating SME and entrepreneurship programs” and “developing entrepreneurial competencies.” He explained how Korea evaluates and adjusts its programs based on scientific data from the Integrated SME Management System and other sources to avoid redundancy in its SME support programs. He also spoke about Korea’s experience with launching official entrepreneurship training programs to induce a second start-up boom in the country, drawing positive responses from the representatives of other OECD countries at the session.
The participants of the 2018 SME Ministerial Conference reaffirmed the significance of SMEs in the global economy, where they account for 50% of the world’s total employment and 50%?60% of the GDP of OECD member states. The participants then agreed to enhance cooperation across various areas, such as the integration of SME global value chains, and adopted a joint statement.
In addition, Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu sat with OECD Deputy Secretary-General Mari Kiviniemi for a bilateral talk to discuss ways to promote cooperation in developing OECD SME strategies and entrepreneurship training at universities and colleges. Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu provided an overview of Entrepreneur Centers and entrepreneurship training in Korean universities and colleges, and proposed the continuance of the discussions for cooperative efforts to ensure Korea’s contribution to SME and entrepreneurship sectors.
By sharing the new administration’s vision for an SME-centered economy and Korea’s successful SME policies, Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu and the other delegates of the 2018 OECD SME Ministerial Conference have successfully created a foundation for cooperation with other OECD member states in the area of SME policies.
Held 14 years after the 2nd conference in 2004, this year’s conference was attended by around 300 delegates from member states and international organizations including the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister; the Minister of Police, Fisheries, Revenue, and Small Business of New Zealand; and representatives from the World Bank. The main topic of the 2018 conference was “Strengthening SMEs and Entrepreneurship for Productivity and Inclusive Growth.” The specific topics discussed by the ministers and high-level representatives at the conference included enabling SMEs to scale up, enhancing SMEs’ access to diversified financing instruments, fostering greater SME participation in a globally integrated economy, monitoring and evaluating SME and entrepreneurship programs, and developing entrepreneurial competencies.
In Plenary Session 1, which was held under the topic “Enabling SMEs to Scale Up,” the participants discussed effective policies to scale up start-ups and SMEs, and remove barriers to their growth, as well as other ways to promote the adoption and use of digital technologies. They agreed to adopt and spread innovative digital technologies, and foster a favorable environment for investments in knowledge properties and digital security so that SMEs can fully utilize the opportunities presented by the transition to a digital economy. Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu, who was a senior member of the Korean delegation, was a lead speaker for the session. The other lead speakers of the session included Slovakia Finance Minister Peter Ka?imir, and Minister Pat Breen of Ireland’s Ministry of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection. Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu expounded on the establishment of the new Ministry of SMEs and Startups, which the newly elected administration has set up to shift the center of the nation’s economy from large corporations to SMEs. He also proposed strengthening cooperation at the OECD level to promote the growth of SMEs and spread entrepreneurship. The deputy minister explained the general direction of the new administration’s economic policies for “job and income?led growth and innovative growth,” and spoke about Korea’s past success with its SME policies such as the Tech Incubator Program for startup Korea(TIPS) and the Youth Tomorrow Filling Aid, drawing considerable interest from the attendees.
Plenary Session 2 discussed the issue of “enhancing SME access to diversified financing instruments.” The participants agreed to enhance the access of SMEs and entrepreneurs to appropriate financing instruments through measures such as complying with the “G20/OECD High-Level Principles on SME Financing.” In the session, Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu spoke about Korea’s approach to enhancing SMEs’ access to digital financing instruments such as crowdfunding and the “Policy Grants for Companies Taking the First Step” program.
The participants of Plenary Session 3 discussed ways for “fostering greater SME participation in a globally integrated economy.” The participants agreed on the importance of further integrating the global value chains of SMEs across the world, and building local ecosystems, networks, and clusters to enhance their competitiveness. In light of these imperatives, the ministers and delegates agreed to reinforce cooperation among the incubators, accelerators, SME support centers, and export support centers in the SME policy networks. In the session, Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu introduced the Korean government’s export support policies tailored to SMEs with different levels of export capabilities and its programs to promote SME participation in the online international trade and help SMEs make investments outside Korea.
The deputy minister also attended the Parallel Sessions on “monitoring and evaluating SME and entrepreneurship programs” and “developing entrepreneurial competencies.” He explained how Korea evaluates and adjusts its programs based on scientific data from the Integrated SME Management System and other sources to avoid redundancy in its SME support programs. He also spoke about Korea’s experience with launching official entrepreneurship training programs to induce a second start-up boom in the country, drawing positive responses from the representatives of other OECD countries at the session.
The participants of the 2018 SME Ministerial Conference reaffirmed the significance of SMEs in the global economy, where they account for 50% of the world’s total employment and 50%?60% of the GDP of OECD member states. The participants then agreed to enhance cooperation across various areas, such as the integration of SME global value chains, and adopted a joint statement.
In addition, Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu sat with OECD Deputy Secretary-General Mari Kiviniemi for a bilateral talk to discuss ways to promote cooperation in developing OECD SME strategies and entrepreneurship training at universities and colleges. Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu provided an overview of Entrepreneur Centers and entrepreneurship training in Korean universities and colleges, and proposed the continuance of the discussions for cooperative efforts to ensure Korea’s contribution to SME and entrepreneurship sectors.
By sharing the new administration’s vision for an SME-centered economy and Korea’s successful SME policies, Deputy Minister Choi Su-gyu and the other delegates of the 2018 OECD SME Ministerial Conference have successfully created a foundation for cooperation with other OECD member states in the area of SME policies.