The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has begun building a support system to widen participation by small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea's three mega projects. The ministry plans to launch regional councils soon to systematically gather the needs and views of SMEs hoping to take part.
The ministry said it held a roundtable with SMEs on spreading the benefits of the mega projects on the 21st at the auditorium of Korea Ratings & Data in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo district, chaired by Minister Lee So-young. The three mega projects are large-scale national industrial and infrastructure programs that will invest more than 1,500 trillion won (about $1.1 trillion) to build an artificial intelligence industry ecosystem and create new growth engines, centered on semiconductors, AI data centers and physical AI.
The roundtable was held to hear from the industry ahead of SMEs joining the mega project consultative bodies. The ministry was not originally a participant in the mega projects, but Lee recently proposed to President Lee Jae-myung at a Cabinet meeting that it be included, and it has since become one of the official supervising ministries. "I conveyed to the president my concern that it would be better for the country and its people if many SMEs, not just a handful of large companies, became the main players in the mega projects," Lee said at the roundtable. "Going forward, companies that are slated to join the three mega projects or that wish to join will also take part in the consultative bodies."
Attendees included Song Byung-joon, chairman of the Korea Venture Business Association; Chung Kwang-cheon, chairman of the Innobiz Association; Kim Myung-jin, chairman of the Mainbiz Association; Kim Jae-won, chairman of the Korea Startup Forum; and officials from nine SMEs, venture firms and startups in the semiconductor, AI data center and physical AI fields. They presented the ministry with growth plans linked to the mega projects and areas where they hope to cooperate with large and mid-sized companies.
The ministry plans to launch a separate council soon to assess demand among a wider group of SMEs for joining the projects and to explore ways to link them with large and mid-sized companies. "We will set up regional councils and create more occasions to listen to SMEs," Lee said. "We will put in place a tailored support system and build the groundwork so that the entire process — from entering supply chains to orders, production and payment — is carried out fairly and promotes shared growth."