Among numerous contributors, small- and medium-sized enterprises¡¯- which have been played pivotal roles in the national economy accounting for 99.9% of all enterprises (3 million SMEs), 87.7% of all employees (10.8 million employees), and 47.6% of production - contributions for the outcome deserve to be especially esteemed in spite of their comparatively low ratio of entire performance compared to many conglomerates including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, etc.

With their independent consistent utmost efforts for expanding their presence in the global market and favorable export conditions mainly by FTAs made with South Korea, Korean SMEs are witnessed slightly expanded volume of export to foreign markets amid global recession in consumption - especially in the area of automotive parts.

South Korean SMEs are played their importing role for the performance through directly exporting their flagship export items to global market and helping export of the finished goods of the larger-sized Korean enterprises by supplying parts products to them.

There is remarkable government-level policy behind SMEs¡¯apparent contribution to the nation¡¯s such stride. The Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) executed a policy that is designed with an aim to help strengthen the export capacity of South Korean SMEs. This policy is focused on boosting the gradual increase of SMBs¡¯ export volume by supplying various kinds of specific services promoting exports of SMEs including education, design, global market information supply, marketing, market research, strategy consulting, global brand development, etc.

Under this support policy, last year, more than 1,600 Korean SMEs could enjoy direct and indirect effect in expanding their presence in global markets through being intensively, frequently, effectively, and strategically exposed to global business partners by supported export-boosting services.

For contributing to the further increase of the global presence of those selected items in 2013 again, Korea Buyers Guide covers 50 companies¡¯products based upon their comparatively superior quality among more than 1,600 companies¡¯ items.

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