[2027 Budget Proposal] 440 Billion Won for “Entrepreneurship for All,” 1.3 Trillion Won for Fund-of-Funds Investment

Record-High 2027 Budget for SMEs and Startups at 18.0724 Trillion Won
Up 1.5491 Trillion Won from 2026
2.5537 Trillion Won Allocated for SME R&D
124 Billion Won Secured for Mutually Beneficial Delivery Apps

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has drafted its largest-ever budget plan for 2027, focusing intensive investment on systematizing growth pathways for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and spreading the benefits of growth across the broader economy. Over 400 billion won has been allocated to the “Entrepreneurship for All” initiative, establishing a national growth ladder that supports every stage from founding a startup to making a comeback after setbacks. The plan also calls for supporting mutually beneficial delivery applications, aiming to pass the positive effects of growth to small business owners.

On September 1, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that the proposed 2027 budget has been set at 18.0724 trillion won, a 9.4% increase from this year’s main budget. To further spread the national startup boom, 441.1 billion won has been allocated to the “Entrepreneurship for All” platform, which enables anyone with an idea to take on entrepreneurship challenges. The number of recipients to be supported will increase from 15,000 this year to 20,000 next year, and the average staged commercialization fund—helping challengers focus fully on their startups—will rise from 20 million won to 30 million won. A new 16.6 billion won budget was allocated for experienced-entrepreneurship support, aimed at encouraging startups led by seasoned professionals with a wealth of skills and experience. The budget for the Korea Venture Investment Corp. Fund-of-Funds has also been expanded to a record 1.3 trillion won to catalyze private venture capital investment.

For nurturing innovative companies in the four new growth sectors—security, climate tech, pharmaceutical bio, and K-consumer goods—a budget of 10 billion won has been newly allocated to support 300 companies with bundled, long-term aid. A new 3.8 billion won budget is set to establish a security-focused investment institution modeled after In-Q-Tel in the United States, allowing direct government investment in security innovation and candidate firms.

The private-public collaboration open innovation project, which catalyzes open innovation between major companies, mid-sized enterprises, public institutions, and startups, has been more than doubled to 54.3 billion won. Collaboration programs with global firms are set at 60 billion won. A total of 2.5537 trillion won has been earmarked for technology innovation (R&D) projects for SMEs and startups. The “TIPS model” R&D budget—where the government provides robust support after private investment—stands at 1.3435 trillion won. The “Jump-Up” program, dedicated to fostering promising companies into mid-sized enterprises, has been allocated 164.2 billion won. The export voucher support system will be revamped into an export base voucher, which helps break into overseas markets, and an export growth package tailored to different growth stages; the matching budget has been expanded by more than double to 313.7 billion won.

Policy funds for SMEs include 1.6898 trillion won for startup support, 1.4898 trillion won for growth company support, and 840 billion won for restart and leap support, bringing total loans to 4.4 trillion won. Additionally, 1 trillion won in private loans will be buttressed by government interest subsidies, for a total of 5.4 trillion won in financial support. Efforts to assist those making a comeback after failure will also be strengthened, with 59.5 billion won newly allocated for the “Second Chance Success School,” 33.4 billion won for the “Second Chance Encouragement Project,” and the “Second Chance Success Package” expanded to 46.9 billion won.

Noh Yongseok, Acting Minister and First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is giving a briefing on the '2027 Ministry of SMEs and Startups Budget Plan' on the 31st at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Ministry of SMEs and Startups

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has also earmarked funds to ease the monopoly of private delivery platforms and reduce the burden on small business owners. The “Mutually Beneficial Delivery App” support program will be allocated 124 billion won to foster public delivery apps into platforms attractive to consumers, merchants, and riders alike. Three to four public delivery apps will be selected after screening for public value and market feasibility and will receive support in connection with regional currencies and Onnuri gift certificates.

Investment is also planned to establish a basic social safety net for small business owners. The ministry will introduce a new customized policy insurance product, with a 30 billion won budget, to cover a wide range of business risks—including temporary closure, shutdown, and restart—facing young business owners operating for less than five years. The “Hope Return Package,” designed to support both orderly shutdowns and swift recoveries for small business owners, is to receive 315.3 billion won, reinforcing the support system before and after business closure. Furthermore, a new initiative with a 205 billion won budget will cover business suspension costs and substitute labor expenses, enabling small business owners to receive national health screenings.

The loan program for small business owners will be overhauled to focus on those facing financing difficulties. The existing 1.22 trillion won in general business stabilization loans will be transformed into an interest support program for 2 trillion won in loans. Financial support totaling 4.25 trillion won will include 700 billion won in growth promotion loans, 1.3 trillion won in business stabilization loans, and 250 billion won in crisis response loans. To alleviate financial burdens for regionally based small business owners with limited collateral, the budget for regional credit guarantee foundations reinsurance will be set at 260.7 billion won.

Noh Yongseok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “The 2027 budget plan was built from the ground up, thoroughly re-examining all of our support programs and prioritizing bold restructuring of expenditures to make sure micro and small businesses can truly grow. The Ministry will dedicate all available resources to realize an ‘irreplaceable Republic of Korea’—where everyone rises together through stronger growth ladders and wider diffusion of growth opportunities.”

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