Gumi City Launches Full-Scale ‘Pinpoint Support’ for SMEs... Establishes Dedicated Track for Women-Owned Businesses

Customized Support for Technology, Marketing, and Market Development
Up to 10 Million Won per Company
Separate Selection System for Women-Owned Businesses

Gumi City in North Gyeongsang Province is launching a full-scale, customized support program to strengthen the competitiveness of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and expand their growth foundations.

This year, in particular, the city has established a dedicated support category for women-owned businesses, focusing on enhancing diversity and inclusivity within the business ecosystem.

Gumi City announced that it will be recruiting participants for the "2026 Second Half SME Total Solution Pinpoint Support Program" from June 15 to June 30.

Gumi City Hall Exterior View [Photo by Gumi City]

This program is designed to address management challenges faced by manufacturing-based SMEs and to enhance their technological competitiveness.

It operates eight programs across technology, marketing, and market development, including production process advancement, prototype production, exhibition participation, and obtaining patents and certifications. Each company can receive up to 10 million won in support.

The eligible participants are local small manufacturing companies. Additional evaluation points will be given to companies with annual sales of less than 5 billion won, those with high employee relocation rates, and direct exporters.

The city plans to maximize the effectiveness of its support by selecting companies with high growth potential to help them achieve substantial competitiveness improvements.

The most notable change is the expansion of support for women-owned businesses.

Recently, Gumi City established the "Ordinance on Support for Women-Owned Businesses in Gumi City," providing an institutional foundation for nurturing women-owned businesses. Starting this year, the city has created a separate category for women-owned businesses in addition to the general category.

This measure aims to lower the entry barriers for women-owned businesses, which tend to be smaller and have less experience participating in support programs, and to ensure that more companies benefit from these policies.

The city plans to systematically support technological innovation, market expansion, and business stabilization so that women-owned businesses can become core growth drivers of the local economy.

Jangho Kim, Mayor of Gumi City, stated, "In the rapidly changing industrial environment, it is more important than ever to provide timely support tailored to the needs of businesses," and added, "We hope this Pinpoint Support Program will provide practical help in strengthening the competitiveness and management stability of local SMEs, including women-owned businesses."

Meanwhile, information on how to apply and detailed support measures can be found on the Gumi City Business Support IT Portal and the website of the Gumi Electronics & Information Technology Institute.

Attention is focused on whether support for SMEs, the backbone of the local industry, will lead to business growth and job creation.

The establishment of a dedicated support system for women-owned businesses is significant, as it goes beyond simple budget allocation and serves as a policy experiment to enhance the diversity and sustainability of the regional industrial ecosystem.

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