Korea Federation of SMEs to hold 2026 Baekdu Forum in Tokyo on Thursday

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced Sunday that it will hold the 2026 Baekdu Forum at the Hilton Tokyo Odaiba hotel on Thursday, with about 40 heads of small and medium-sized enterprises from various industries in attendance.

This year's forum will be held under the theme "SME globalization strategies and 16 years of the Baekdu Forum." Exporters and cooperatives that have expanded overseas will participate to share their experiences in breaking into foreign markets and discuss ways to strengthen the global competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The first session will feature presentations of success stories by export-leading companies with long track records in overseas markets as well as firms that have recently begun expanding abroad. Ongoing exchanges and cooperation between the Korean and Japanese concrete industries will also be highlighted. Participants are expected to share views on the overseas expansion support needed from the government and the Korea Federation of SMEs.

The second session will review the forum's achievements over the past 16 years and discuss its future direction. The forum's role in expanding international exchanges among small and medium-sized enterprises in response to a changing global economic environment will also be a key agenda item.

Last November, the Korea Federation of SMEs co-hosted a Korea-Japan SME economic forum in Tokyo with the Japan Federation of Small Business Associations to mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The Baekdu Forum was first held in 2010 in Yanji, China, with 25 participants including SME leaders and academic experts. It has since expanded to Vietnam, the UAE and Japan. This year marks its 17th edition.