This book provides an overview of SMEs and SME policy of Korea. Looking at the context in which they operate, it outlines the past and the present of the SME sector in Korea. It also explores the current conditions and highlights the issues of SMEs in Korea, which stands at a crossroad, with challenges ahead.
It is high time that the government should come up with short- and long-term countermeasures to break out of the vicious cycle of low productivity and low performance of the SME sector. In particular, it is necessary to facilitate entrepreneurship and innovation of SMEs and of all stakeholders, which will lead to national economic growth and development. Supporting SMEs for their sake is not an objective of either economic policy or SME policy. A desirable SME policy means that it promotes enterprises so that they overcome their difficulties or shortcomings and helps them to become growth-oriented enterprises.

CONTENTS

Preface

List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Boxes

Chapter 1 Introduction
1. Roles and Contributions
2. Challenges and Public Policy

Chapter 2 Understanding the SME of Korea
1. Definition and Basic Figures
1) Definition of SME
2) SME in Korea-basic figures
2. Types of SMEs
1) SMEs by Size
2) SMEs by Characteristics
3. Summary and Outlook

Chapter 3 The State of Korean SMEs
1. The Current Status of SMEs
1) Numbers and Shares
2) Structure of SME Sector
2. Manufacturing SMEs
1) Numbers and Shares
2) Structure of Manufacturing SME Sector
3) Production and Added Value
3. Recent Activities of SMEs
1) Firm Dynamics
2) Financing
3) Technology Development
4) Overseas Activities
4. Summary and Outlook

Chapter 4 Evolution of Korean SMEs
1. Evolution of SMEs
1) Overview of SMEs
2) Historical overview of SMEs
2. Evolution of Manufacturing SMEs
1) Overview of Manufacturing SMEs
2) Historical overview of Manufacturing SMEs
3. Summary and Outlook

Chapter 5 Evolution of Korean SME Policy
1. Overview of SME Policy
2. Historical Overview of Korean SME Policy
1) The 1950s 2) The 1960s
3) The 1970s 4) The 1980s
5) The 1990s 6) The 2000s
3. Summary and Outlook

Chapter 6 Current Korean SME Policy
1. Overview of Current SME Policy
1) Goals, Targets and Measures
2) Supporting System
2. Major Areas of SME Policy
1) Financing 2) Taxation
3) Technology Development
4) Human Resources 5) Market
3. Start-up Promotion
1) Supporting System 2) Supporting Programs
4. Micro Enterprises
1) Supporting System 2) Supporting Programs
5. Summary and Outlook

Chapter 7 Concluding Remarks

Bibliography

AUTHOR

Jungdae Suh is the president of Korea Institute for Enterprises and Economy. Formerly, the vice president at Korea Small Business Institute and the president at Korea Research Institute for Small and Medium Industries, Jungdae holds a PhD from Pennsylvania State University in Economics. Currently, he writes about SMEs, public policy, and economic development.