The Korea Electric Power Corp., South Korea’s state-run power company, announced a set of measures Monday to help the country’s small and medium enterprises boost their exports.

Under its new 15-point support measure, KEPCO will purchase 5 trillion won ($4.63 billion) worth of parts and labor from SMEs this year, up from around 4 trillion won in 2012, it said.

The company will also provide up to 1 billion won, compared with 500 million won last year, in research and development support funds to each qualified company, along with 120 billion won in total to help relieve liquidity risks of small and medium-sized companies.

In addition, the company will host what it calls “Big Mall” sales events to help boost sales of SMEs.

“KEPCO will continue to work for joint development with SMEs through dialogue and mutual trust that will all come together to build a legend that, together we never fail,” KEPCO president Cho Hwan-eik said at a ceremony attended by some 500 people from the government and businesses, including Yoo Jang-hee, head of the National Commission for Corporate Partnership. (Yonhap News)