Mid-sized business week kicks off Monday with global cooperation, innovation events

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources announced it will hold the 2026 Mid-Sized Business Week from Monday through Friday.

Mid-Sized Business Week is the largest annual event in the mid-sized business sector and is held every third week of November. Mid-sized enterprises are defined as companies with total assets of 500 billion won ($375 million) or more — regardless of industry — whose three-year average sales in their primary business exceed the threshold for small and medium-sized enterprises. They account for just 1.4 percent of all domestic companies but generate 15.2 percent of total national sales and 13.6 percent of employment.

A series of events will take place throughout the week: an international cooperation meet-up for mid-sized businesses on Monday, a World-Class Product certificate ceremony on Tuesday, a mid-sized business innovation conference on Wednesday, and a Mid-Sized Business Day commemorative ceremony on Friday.

On Monday, the international cooperation meet-up will be held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul to help Korean mid-sized companies build overseas networks. More than 20 representatives from middle-power governments and institutions — including ambassadors to Korea from major countries — will attend and discuss strategies for global expansion and mutual cooperation with Korean mid-sized firms.

The World-Class Product certificate ceremony will be held Tuesday at Lotte Hotel World in Jamsil, Seoul, to share the achievements of Korean mid-sized companies leading global markets. Certificates will be presented to 79 companies, and an export consultation session will be held to support their global expansion.

On Wednesday, the Mid-Sized Business Innovation Conference will be held at the Westin Chosun Seoul in Sogong-dong under the theme "Navigating supply chain realignment, trade risks and the waves of AI-driven industrial transformation." The event is designed to explore new growth engines and ways to strengthen competitiveness for mid-sized businesses in an era of accelerating AI-centered industrial transformation. Jeon Yun-jong, president of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, is among those expected to attend.

The week closes Friday with the Mid-Sized Business Day commemorative ceremony, also at the Westin Chosun Seoul in Sogong-dong. Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and Korea Middle Market Enterprise Federation Chairman Choi Jin-sik are among the industry figures expected to attend.

Further details on Mid-Sized Business Week events are available on the Korea Middle Market Enterprise Federation website.