The Republic of Korea's Small and Medium-Size Enterprises and Their Support Systems 1404. The success of Korea's collective support lies in well-functioning governance structures, in which hierarchical controls and human resource policies are especially important. Even so, some collective support was used often and valued highly, especially in technologically dynamic sectors. Among various collective providers of technical support for Korean SMEs, at least one was used by more than half of the SMEs surveyed. Generally, networks of local agents and foreign traders developed as firms gained in export experience.
Financial assistance is the most critical form of support for SMEs.
The Korean government has made extensive use of parastatal finance institutions, targeted credit, and credit guarantee schemes. Government intervention in finance was so pervasive that the line between private and collective support blurred. Most SMEs sampled used at least one collective institution of financial support, and rated them very positively. Return to Working Papers homepage.