President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with leaders from big businesses as well as small and medium enterprises at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps
President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday urged large corporations and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to work more closely together to sustain the Korean economy and deliver broader growth, describing such collaboration as a “smart survival strategy” for businesses.
Lee made the remarks while presiding over a meeting with business leaders at Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office. The gathering brought together representatives from 10 major corporations — including Hanwha Ocean, Samsung Electronics, SK SUPEX Council and Hyundai Motor — along with 10 SMEs that partner with them. The event aimed to promote mutually beneficial cooperation between large companies and smaller firms.
“Cooperation between large corporations and SMEs is not charity but an investment. Put more bluntly, it could even be a survival strategy,” Lee said at the meeting.
Lee underscored that cooperation should extend beyond corporate partners, saying that regional youth, small-business owners and investors can also become long-term sources of corporate competitiveness. He noted that companies increasingly face difficulty attracting investment if they fail to adopt environmental, social and governance management practices.
President Lee Jae Myung listens to participants' presentations during a meeting with leaders from big businesses and small and medium enterprises at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps
While acknowledging signs of economic recovery, including strong exports, the benchmark KOSPI surpassing the 5,000 mark and economic growth rebounding to the 2 percent range, Lee said the benefits of recovery may not yet reach all sectors of society.
“For SMEs, regional economies and the labor sector — especially vulnerable young people — this recovery may still feel like a different world,” he said. “To overcome what is often described as ‘K-shaped growth,’ where one side grows rapidly while another stagnates, we must reflect on whether the warmth and fruits of recovery are being shared broadly.”
Lee also criticized past growth strategies that relied on generating a trickle-down effect.
“There was a time in the past when concentrating resources and opportunities in certain sectors, what some might call an ‘all-in’ strategy, was considered effective,” he said. “But there is now broad consensus that such an approach has become an obstacle to sustainable growth.”
Source: Korea Times News
