There have been growing concerns about South Korea's exports... with outbound shipments falling on-year for five consecutive months. <br />In a bid to stem to bleeding,... the government has announced new measures to support small and mid-sized firms selling their products online. <br />Ko Roon-hee explains. <br />To revitalize South Korea's flagging exports, many analysts have pointed to the importance of supporting small and mid-sized firms...because they generally lack networking opportunities and resources compared to larger ones.<br />And to turn things around, economic related ministries unveiled new measures on Wednesday to support the companies' e-commerce activities. <br />The government aims to foster 15-thousand 'online-export firms' by 2022.<br />These refer to companies that originally depended on domestic demand...but are eligible for government support in their e-commerce exports. <br />The Ministry of SMEs said it will achieve this goal through two main methods.<br />First, because small businesses export a relatively small quantity of goods, the government will provide financial support in terms of storing the export items.<br />This will save the firms distribution costs and enhance their price competitiveness in the online market.<br />Second, the government will collaborate with global platforms and provide lessons on how companies can actually upload or sell their products.<br />The ministry has allocated around 36-million U.S. dollars this year to support online export activities. Other than e-commerce, ways to foster unicorn firms were announced as well. <br />A unicorn firm refers to a privately held startup that's valued at over one billion dollars.<br />Because the ministry believes startups can become unicorn firms by expanding internationally, the government will work with related organizations so they can provide overseas networking opportunities. <br />Last but not least, the government will increase the number of cultural activities related to Hallyu or the Korean Wave...so small firms can more easily enter emerging markets. <br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
