In-hwa In-hwa, Chairman of the Mutual Growth Committee, “We will create a model for coexistence between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises.”

Spreading regional cooperation... Support for small and medium-sized businesses to enter the supply chain and public markets

(Busan = Yonhap News) Reporter Soo-hee Oh = The 8th Chairman of the Mutual Growth Committee, In-hwa In-hwa, said on the 17th, "Based on my experience of running a company myself and leading the Busan Chamber of Commerce, I will create a shared growth model that can encompass large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises nationwide."

In an interview with Yonhap News, Chairman Jang said, "It is a burden on my shoulders to take on the role of chairman in a situation where external conditions are not favorable due to the burden of tariffs from the United States, supply chain reorganization, and rising raw material prices and logistics costs." He added, "The warmth and growth momentum resulting from strong semiconductor exports must spread from large companies to small and medium-sized companies, and from the metropolitan area to regional areas."

He expressed his ambition, saying, “Small and medium-sized businesses can become the partners that large businesses look for first by increasing their competitiveness, and large businesses can achieve shared growth when they recognize that growing together with small and medium-sized businesses is a major competitive advantage.” He added, “We will meet with businesspeople frequently to expand the field of cooperation where large businesses and small and medium-sized businesses can grow together so that the results of shared growth can reach every corner of the local industrial field.”

Key tasks included strengthening the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises and expanding the role of the committee in response to changes in the industrial environment.

Chairman Jang said, “We will help small and medium-sized businesses develop their own stamina to play a leading role in the shared growth ecosystem, and increase the role and capabilities of the committee in line with the changed industrial environment, so that companies can feel that they have actually changed.”

He emphasized, "In order to revitalize the local economy, we will spread a regional cooperation model in which local large corporations, mid-sized companies, public institutions, and small and medium-sized businesses grow together. We will increase opportunities for local small and medium-sized businesses to enter the supply chain of large corporations or public markets by allowing the technology, sales channels, education, and infrastructure of large corporations and public institutions to meet the field capabilities of local small and medium-sized businesses."

He continued, “If corporate investment and industrial boom are to lead to the growth of local small and medium-sized businesses and good jobs, there must be a leading company in the region to serve as a link.”

They also announced plans to create substantial growth opportunities for local small and medium-sized businesses through the relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and major shipping companies to Busan.

Chairman Jang said, “With the relocation of the headquarters of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, affiliated public institutions, and major shipping companies, including HMM, to Busan, we will ensure that local small and medium-sized businesses receive substantial growth opportunities as the Busan industrial ecosystem thickens and expands.”

Chairman Jang is an economic figure who has accumulated extensive experience in the industrial and regional economy, serving as chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, senior vice-chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, chairman of the board of the Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center, and vice-chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses.

The Mutual Growth Committee was launched in December 2010 to reach private sector agreements for mutual growth between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises and to create and spread a culture of win-win cooperation. It plays a role in reconciling conflicts between large corporations and small and medium-sized businesses, evaluating the mutual growth index, and designating suitable industries for small and medium-sized businesses.