Gyeonggi Province Launches "On-site Fair Trade Education" to Prevent Unfair Trade Damages for Prospective Entrepreneurs

Gyeonggi Province is set to launch the "2026 On-site Fair Trade Education" program to prevent unfair trade damages among young people and prospective entrepreneurs.

On June 11, Gyeonggi Province announced that it would conduct fair trade education programs for young entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners, who tend to be vulnerable to unfair trade practices due to a lack of legal and practical experience. The aim is to help them establish proper contracts and strengthen their ability to respond to unfair trade damages.

The training sessions will be led by experts from the Gyeonggi Province Fair Trade Support Center, who will visit the sites in person. The program will target participants of the Gyeonggi Market Merchant Promotion Agency’s Youth Entrepreneurship One-Step program, those planning to participate in startup expos, and university students in the province involved in entrepreneurship-related programs.

Key topics include practical skills for drafting contracts to identify and eliminate potentially harmful clauses before signing, and guidance on how to seek redress for unfair trade damages by utilizing government and local support systems.

In particular, the curriculum will focus on real-life contract dispute cases that young entrepreneurs are likely to encounter, helping them build legal self-reliance and develop the capacity to identify and mitigate risk factors from the contract stage.

Gyeonggi Province Fair Trade Education Information Poster

Last year, Gyeonggi Province also conducted a total of 19 training sessions for universities and youth entrepreneurship support organizations, with 680 participants. Satisfaction surveys indicated a high level of approval, with over 95% of respondents expressing satisfaction with the program.

Seo Bongja, Director of the Fair Economy Division at Gyeonggi Province, stated, “The greatest assets for young entrepreneurs are their technology and ideas, but business fortunes can be determined by a single contract. Through this on-site education initiative, we will provide young and prospective entrepreneurs with a solid legal shield and do our best to foster a fair trade culture.”

Meanwhile, according to the National Tax Service, the annual number of business closures surpassed 1 million for the first time in 2024 since statistics began, underscoring the worsening business environment for small business owners. In particular, the closure rate among those in their 20s stands at 20%, and 14% for those in their 30s—approximately 1.5 to 2 times higher than the overall average of 9%—highlighting the elevated closure risks faced by the younger generation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.