On January 21, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun Cheol chaired the Ministerial Meeting on Economic Affairs at the Government Complex-Seoul. The meeting discussed the “Win-Win Growth Strategy for Large Corporations and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)”, “Plan to Strengthen Strategic Export Financing Support”, and “Measures to Enhance the Advanced Critical Care Capacity of Regional Leading Hospitals.”

Key messages from DPM Koo’s remarks are as follows:

[Win-Win Growth Strategy for Large Corporations and SMEs]

The government will shift from a system in which the benefits of economic diplomacy primarily flowed to large corporations, toward one that expands opportunities for SMEs to enter overseas markets and increases the supply of growth capital.

-             Offer preferential export financing limits and interest rates for joint overseas expansion projects between large corporations and SMEs; double financial support for investment projects in the United States.

-             Significantly expand win-win growth financing, under which large corporations and financial institutions contribute to guarantee agencies to support their partner companies, form KRW 1 trillion to KRW 1.7 trillion.

At the same time, it will bolster institutional mechanisms to ensure that the benefits generated by large corporations are systematically passed on to SMEs.

-             Extend the performance-sharing system to cover all inter-firm transactions, including platforms and distribution, and conduct win-win growth evaluations across all public institutions (134 → 331).

-             Reinforce administrative sanctions against the misappropriation of technology from SMEs and introduce fines of up to KRW 5 billion for serious violations.

Not only that, it will expand the win-win growth ecosystem, which has been centered on manufacturing, to include platforms, finance, and the defense industry.

[Plan to Strengthen Strategic Export Financing Support]

A Strategic Export Financing Fund will be launched with an aim to bolster financial support capacity for strategic exports.

-             Step up financial support not only for large-scale projects such as defense, nuclear power, and plants, but also for long-term and low-credit projects that have previously received limited support, thereby supporting the development of new markets.

-             Introduce a Strategic Export Win-Win Contribution Fund to create a virtuous cycle in which the profits of beneficiary companies contribute to strengthening competitiveness across the entire ecosystem.

-             Promptly push for the enactment of legislation on strategic export financing support.

[Measures to Enhance the Advanced Critical Care Capacity of Regional Leading Hospitals]

The government will swiftly upgrade the aging infrastructure of the regional leading hospitals in each of the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, thereby boosting regional healthcare capacity.

-             Invest a total of KRW 203 billion in 2026 to expand intensive care units (ICUs) and introduce high-tech medical equipment, including robotic surgical systems, and critical care equipment.

Please refer to the attached files.