Korea Federation of SMEs signs MOU with South Jeolla-Gwangju to attract businesses from Greater Seoul

The Korea Federation of SMEs has partnered with the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City to support the relocation of companies from Greater Seoul and overseas and to attract new investment to the region.

The federation signed a memorandum of understanding with the integrated special city Thursday at the Holiday Inn Gwangju Hotel, agreeing to jointly establish and operate an SME Investment Attraction Help Desk. The signing came on the sidelines of a policy forum hosted by the federation and attended by South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City Mayor Min Hyeong-bae.

The help desk will provide investment-related information and support to small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies considering relocating or making new investments in the region. The federation plans to tap its nationwide cooperative and member network to identify investment demand and link companies to large-scale projects the integrated special city is pursuing, including semiconductor and AI data center developments.

The agreement is notable for bringing the SME sector directly into a local government's business attraction drive. The federation said it intends to target not only companies based in Greater Seoul but also Korean firms operating abroad as potential investors in the region.

A policy forum held after the signing shared the results of a survey of local small businesses on the launch of the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City and presented 11 policy proposals aimed at strengthening the region's industrial competitiveness.

Key proposals included expanding opportunities for local small businesses to participate in mega-projects such as semiconductor and AI data center developments, standardizing co-payment requirements for the smart factory support program, and developing a skilled workforce pipeline.

The federation also called for advancing digital transformation and AI adoption by industry sector through cooperatives, and for expanded support for joint business initiatives. Logistics and transportation proposals included energy cost subsidies for shared distribution centers serving local small merchants and the construction of roads around the Maewol General Distribution Complex.

Additional proposals covered building an integrated support system for the South Jeolla-Gwangju kimchi industry, expanding approved purchasing channels under the agricultural materials subsidy program, raising the enrollment incentive for the Noran Usan mutual aid scheme, and broadening interest-rate subsidy coverage under the mutual aid fund for companies with insufficient credit or collateral.

About 30 people attended the forum, including Korea Federation of SMEs Chairman Kim Ki-moon, South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City Mayor Min Hyeong-bae, Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Office of SMEs and Startups Director General Park Jong-chan, and heads of regional cooperatives.

The South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City has been rolling out policies to attract businesses and expand local investment. On Wednesday, it announced the formation of a regional growth fund worth 131.3 billion won ($97.7 million), with plans to invest about 100 billion won in promising local companies and others over the next three years. The MOU with the federation is part of that broader effort to build a stronger investment base for regional businesses.

"The Korea Federation of SMEs will focus its capabilities on helping companies operating overseas and those based in Greater Seoul find new growth opportunities and invest in South Jeolla-Gwangju," Chairman Kim said.

"I will actively reflect the proposals delivered at today's forum in city administration, and build an integrated special city that grows together with local small and medium-sized enterprises," Mayor Min said.