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Lee calls for cooperation between big firms, SMEs for sustainable growth

Published: 10 Mar. 2026, 19:09

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with senior officials from major conglomerates and small and medium-sized enterprises to discuss a co-prosperity business model at the Blue House in central Seoul on March 10. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday urged big companies to cooperate with small and medium-sized firms, saying that such cooperation should promote sustainable economic growth in the long term.

Lee made the remarks during a meeting with senior representatives from major conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and SK Group, as well as SMEs, to discuss ways to promote a coprosperity business model.

"There were times when the concentration of opportunities and resources in certain sectors was effective in generating a so-called trickle-down effect," Lee said, referring to an economic model in which benefits and incentives given to large businesses are expected to spread to the broader economy.

"While such a strategy served as a stepping stone for economic growth in the past, it has now become an obstacle," he added.

He pointed to the uneven "K-shaped recovery," in which large companies are benefiting from the recent stock market rally, while SMEs, noncapital regions and younger workers remain relatively sidelined.

"It is time to make a major transformation to ensure that the warmth of economic recovery spreads across sectors and that the benefits of growth are more widely shared," he said.

Lee cited Hanwha Ocean as an example, noting that the shipbuilder recently provided incentive payments to both regular employees and subcontractor workers. He described it as a model case of large companies sharing benefits more broadly and expressed hope that more companies will follow suit.

Mentioning environmental, social and governance management, Lee said such strategies are increasingly becoming a key factor in attracting global investment and strengthening corporate competitiveness and pledged government support for building a mutually beneficial business ecosystem.

Yonhap