The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Han Sung-sook, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced that it held the 2025 SME Innovation Network Forum in Jeju for two days from Wednesday, September 3 to Thursday, September 4 in conjunction with the APEC SME Ministerial Meeting (hereinafter referred to as the SME Ministerial Meeting).
The SME Innovation Network Forum, the largest think tank in the field of SME R&D policy, held this year's forum in conjunction with the APEC SME Ministerial Meeting's key agenda of "Innovative Growth" under the theme of "SME Innovation, Connecting the World: Deep Tech-Based Global Growth Strategy."
First, through a global talk concert with APEC member countries, domestic and international experts from academia, industry, and research, and small and medium-sized enterprises, we shared policies to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises with countries such as Canada, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and explored global cooperation measures.
Next, representatives from the Fraunhofer Institute, a world-leading research institute in applied technologies such as advanced manufacturing; Purdue University, which has a renowned engineering school; and the Steinweiss Foundation, which supports R&D to solve corporate needs-based challenges, attended and presented best practices in global joint R&D.
These research institutes are key partners in the global collaborative R&D project introduced for the first time this year by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. To expand this partnership, the Korea Technology Information Promotion Agency for SMEs and Startups and Fraunhofer signed an MOU for global R&D cooperation, including technology transfer and personnel exchange, on the occasion of this event.
Finally, a Korea-US expert policy exchange program was held on the topic of "Trends in new technologies such as digital platforms and AI and innovation in SMEs." This program provided in-depth discussions on the role of SMEs in digital economy innovation, the current state of new technology regulations in each country, and the impact on SMEs.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has allocated a record-breaking KRW 2.1955 trillion to its research and development (R&D) budget, a 45% increase from 2025, to drive technological innovation and genuine technology-led growth for SMEs. While there was a cross-ministerial R&D cut in 2024, this expansion brings the R&D budget, which serves as a catalyst for SME technological innovation, back on track. The expanded budget will also support the implementation of this forum's strategies, including the "SME Venture Deep Tech Scale-Up Strategy."
Minister Han Seong-sook said, “The SME Innovation Network Forum is the largest think tank in the field of R&D policy for SMEs and ventures, and is an important platform for exploring strategic directions for technological innovation and strengthening global networks.” She added, “We will focus the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ policy capabilities to accelerate the technology-based global growth and overseas expansion of our SMEs and ventures.”
Details about the APEC SME Ministerial Meeting and related events can be found on the official website .
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