Chairman Ki-Moon Kim: “Korean and Japanese SMEs should meet to share on-the-ground concerns and solutions”

[Financial News] “SMEs in Korea and Japan need to keep meeting to share their on-the-ground concerns and solutions.”
 Ki-Moon Kim, chairman of KBIZ (Photo) emphasized the importance of continued exchanges and cooperation between SMEs in the two countries at the 2nd Korea-Japan SME Economic Forum, held on the 14th at KBIZ in Yeouido, Seoul. Chairman Kim also said he would expand opportunities for exchange so that SMEs in both countries could draw on their technology, experience and networks to create new opportunities for cooperation.
 The forum, jointly organized by KBIZ and the National Federation of Small Business Associations of Japan, was attended by Chairman Kim, Noh Yong-seok, vice minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS); Hiroshi Mori, chairman of the National Federation of Small Business Associations of Japan; and Kazuo Chujo, minister-counselor at the Embassy of Japan in Korea, among others.
 KBIZ and the National Federation of Small Business Associations of Japan, the representative organizations for SMEs in their respective countries, held their first forum in Tokyo last year. They are expanding the foundation for regular exchanges by holding the second forum in Seoul this year.
 At the forum, participants discussed policies and responses in the field, focusing on key issues that SMEs in both countries face together amid a rapidly changing global business environment.
 Shim Jae-yun, director general for global growth policy at MSS, proposed areas for cooperation among SMEs that draw on the strengths of both countries, focusing on SME policy and global growth strategies.
 Hiraku Fuse, vice president of Fuji Filter Korea, presented examples of entering global markets by combining strengths such as Japan’s quality management and Korea’s productivity. Hong Jin-heon, a managing director at LG CNS Co., Ltd. (LG CNS), proposed a model for mutually beneficial cooperation between large companies and SMEs, drawing on examples of SMEs’ artificial intelligence transformation (AX).
 Norihiko Saeki, a section chief at Japan’s Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, outlined key issues facing Japanese SMEs—including measures to facilitate price pass-through, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), business succession and AX—and the policies addressing them.
 Since the first forum last year, follow-up exchanges have continued among SME communities in both countries, led by industry associations. A meeting of the Korea-Japan Ready-Mixed Concrete Federation was held in April this year, and an exchange meeting between automotive parts associations is also scheduled for next year.
 A KBIZ representative said, “The forum is developing beyond meetings between the representative SME organizations of the two countries into a platform for exchanges that lead to practical cooperation between individual industries and companies.”
[email protected] Kang Kyung-rae Reporter