SMEs in Incheon call for extended support to overcome sluggish business

[Courtesy of KBIZ]

Small and mid-size enterprises and micro-entrepreneurs in Incheon met with Incheon Metropolitan City Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok on Thursday in a meeting hosted by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KBIZ).

The meeting was organized to discuss the hardships of SMEs and micro-entrepreneurs in Incheon and to overcome the stagnant local economy amid prolonged high inflation and interest rates and secure new growth engines.

“There are many business challenges due to sluggish sales amid an economic crisis led by high prices and a sharp increase in loan interest rates since the second half of 2021,” said Bae Jong-woo, chairman of an industrial tools market cooperative that represents Namdong District. He called for “expansion of secondary support for the SME mutual-aid project fund to benefit low-credit and low-collateral SMEs in Incheon.”

“Although it is essentially impossible for SMEs in the resource recycling sector to obtain factory registration certificates, the government and municipalities often require factory registration certificates when applying for policy funds,” said Kim Jang-sung, chairman of the Incheon resource recycling specialized complex cooperative. “SMEs with resource recycling facilities and waste disposal permits must be exempted from submitting factory registration certificates.”