Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Cover Up to 70% of Overseas Certification Costs for SMEs

About 180 Companies to Be Selected

Support of Up to 100 Million Won per Company

Maximum of 150 Million Won for Medical Devices

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on July 14 that it is recruiting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the "2026 Overseas Certification Acquisition Support Program (2nd round)."

The Overseas Certification Acquisition Support Program is a project designed to help SMEs obtain the certification standards required by export destination countries during their overseas expansion process, by supporting part of the costs needed for certification, testing, and consulting.

The eligible certifications include a total of 572 types, such as the European Union's CE (Conformité Européenne), the United States' NRTL (Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, including UL certification), and China's NMPA (National Medical Products Administration approval).

This is the second call for participating companies this year, following the one in January. The Ministry plans to select approximately 180 companies and will support 50% to 70% of the total required cost, up to a limit of 100 million won per company, based on the previous year's sales revenue. In the case of the medical device sector, support of up to 150 million won will be provided.

Each company may apply for up to four projects per year. However, for certifications with a total annual requested amount of less than 35 million won, companies can apply for an unlimited number of cases without restrictions.

Applications for participating companies will be accepted until August 14. Detailed information can be found on the official website of the SME Export Regulation Support Center.

Shim Jayoon, Director General for Global Growth Policy at the Ministry, remarked, "With the export environment deteriorating due to recent events such as the Middle East war, we expect this program to help alleviate the export-related cost burden for SMEs. We will continue our efforts to help our companies respond swiftly to various global regulations they encounter during overseas market expansion, including certification requirements."

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