South Korea's top economic policymaker vowed Thursday to provide active government support for small and medium-sized enterprises amid a prolonged economic slowdown, including the establishment of a hotline to address their concerns.
The online platform aims to enable swift responses to their needs, address challenges arising from declining domestic demand and the overall market downturn, and provide prompt assistance, the finance ministry said.
"We will continuously collect feedback from the field and establish a transparent feedback system, where companies can monitor the progress of their suggestions and receive prompt responses," Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said during a meeting with government officials and representatives from the SME sector.
A recent survey conducted by the Korea Federation of SMEs revealed that 26.3 percent of respondents reported damage to exports due to the ongoing political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3.
The minister also pledged government support for SMEs and self-employed individuals by implementing next year's budgetary measures with unprecedented speed and scale.
The government has announced plans to front-load 431.1 trillion won ($300.2 billion), or 75 percent, of the 2025 fiscal budget of 574.8 trillion won, in the first half of 2025, with the focus on helping SMEs and self-employed individuals. (Yonhap)
