Ki-Moon Kim Rules Out Another Term: “I Might Come for a Visit, but I Won’t Come to Work”

【JEJU—Reporter Lee Jumi】After leading the Korea Federation of SMEs (KBIZ) for 16 years, Chairman Ki-Moon Kim has ruled out the possibility of seeking another term after stepping down. He identified job competence and the ability to foster harmony as the most important qualities for the next chair.
At the 2026 SME Leaders Forum, held at Lotte Hotel Jeju on the 21st, Kim ruled out the possibility of running again, saying, “I told the staff that I might come for a visit, but I wouldn’t come to KBIZ to work.” He added, “It was so hard (over the years). That’s my honest reflection.”
Kim was first elected chair of KBIZ in 2007, as its 23rd chair, and served for eight years through 2015. He returned as the 26th chair in 2019 and won reelection in 2023. Kim, who has served as chair for a total of 16 years, is currently in a term that runs through February next year. Under the Small and Medium Enterprise Cooperatives Act, the KBIZ chair may be reelected for only one consecutive term. Although he cannot run in the 28th election, to be held next February, he could in principle stand in the 29th chair election four years later.
Kim cited the introduction of a price-linkage system for payments to suppliers, improvements to the family-business succession system, and improvements to rules on joint activities by SME cooperatives among his key achievements.
“If bills on the relevant systems are finalized in the current National Assembly, all three major tasks will be complete,” Kim said. “There is no end to work related to SMEs, no matter how much gets done, so new issues will continue to arise.”
On the qualities and leadership needed in the next chair, Kim stressed, “It has to be someone who can do the job well.” He continued, “Most cooperative chairpersons know what achievements the candidates have made so far and what their export and sales figures are like. A person’s character is important, too. Whether they can lead the organization while getting along with anyone will be an important criterion.”
He stressed that the role of KBIZ chair calls for responsibility and dedication rather than prestige.
“The KBIZ chair is a part-time position and, apart from authority over personnel, has little direct operational power,” Kim said. “What matters is improving policies and systems for SMEs one by one; it is not a position for grandstanding.”
The election for the 28th KBIZ chair will be held on February 2 next year. Five people are currently being mentioned as potential candidates: Kang Dong-han, chairman of the Korea Forging Industry Cooperative; Park Jang-seon, president of the Korea Federation of Printing Cooperatives; Shim Seung-il, president of the Korea Federation of High-Pressure Gas Industry Cooperatives; Lee Jae-kwang, chairman of the Korea Electric Energy Industry Cooperative; and Lee Min-hyung, chairman of the Jungbu Concrete Pipe Business Cooperative.
The candidates for the next chair did not attend the event. Kim explained, “There was broad concern about campaigning at the board meeting and elsewhere, and since there is no advance registration system for the KBIZ chair election, anyone who starts campaigning now would 100% be caught campaigning prematurely. I understand that they agreed after being interviewed one by one and asked whether it would be acceptable for them all to stay away from the Leaders Forum.”
Kim, who will step down next February, plans to promote the AI transition of SMEs during the remainder of his term.
Kim stressed, “Next year, we’ll launch a pilot project with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to develop standardized data in around 10 cooperatives. SMEs need to adopt AI quickly if our country is to become one of the world’s top three AI powers.”

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