Seven out of 10 small and medium-sized enterprises exporting to Japan say they need to expand exchanges

Three out of four small and medium-sized enterprises exporting to Japan expressed a desire to expand exchanges with Japan. The Korea-Japan Economic Cooperation Small and Medium Enterprises Survey, which targeted 400 exporting small and medium-sized enterprises, was announced by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises on the 23rd.
According to the results of the Corporate Perception Survey, 75.5% of small and medium-sized enterprises exporting to Japan expressed a desire to expand exchanges, viewing it as an opportunity to broaden their export base.
When asked about the economic relationship between Japan and South Korea over the past 60 years, the highest response was "Currently, we have an equal relationship," at 65.5%.
In response to a question about their intention to expand exchanges with Japan, given the atmosphere of improved relations, including summit meetings and the resumption of shuttle diplomacy, 50.3% of responding companies answered in the affirmative.
The overwhelming majority of respondents (82.6%) expected increased exports as an area of exchange activity, followed by increased imports of raw and secondary materials (19.9%), increased investment (10.0%), and
On the other hand, companies that answered that they have no intention to expand exchanges cited the completion of substitution of raw and secondary materials (37.2%), the decline in the attractiveness of the Japanese market (28.6%), and the relationship between the two countries.
Regarding the impact that improving Japan-Korea relations would have on the Korean economy and business management, 58.8% of responding companies answered that it would be "helpful."
This percentage was even higher at 69.5% among small and medium-sized enterprises exporting to Japan, demonstrating a clear sense of anticipation of benefits from expanded economic cooperation.
When asked what support they would like to see from the government, the most popular answer was support for developing new markets, such as participating in exhibitions (54.5%).
This was followed by increased financial support (31.8%). In the biopharmaceutical industry, the demand for support in developing sales channels was particularly high at 83.3%.
Among the issues that the two countries must address together are trade protectionism and other global issues.
Responding to global trade issues was the most popular answer at 75.5%, followed by expanding bilateral and multilateral trade agreements (58.5%) and jointly addressing the declining birthrate and aging population (24.3%).
The survey revealed that regarding the necessity of a Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), 35.3% said it was "necessary" and 11.0% said it was "not necessary," indicating that the majority of respondents were in favor of re-promoting the agreement.