A Comparison of the Supporting Systems for Microenterprises in Korea and Japan

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Today the microenterprise is recognized as an important business entity collectively because its socioeconomic roles in such areas as employment generation and start-up are very significant. In the past, however, since the proportion it accounts for in total economic output is relatively small, its importance was not fully recognized and research papers on it were few in Korea.
The purpose of this article is to compare the supporting systems for the microenterprises in Korea and Japan to identify similarities and differences of them in the two countries. The research method used in this study is an exploratory research approach using the secondary data.
As background information for this comparative study, we initially compare the definitions of the microenterprise in the two countries. In Korea an enterprise that has less than 10 working people are categorized as a microenterprise in the areas of manufacturing and construction industries. In the areas of service industries, however, an enterprise with less than five working people are defined also a microenterprise. In Japan an enterprise that have less than 20 working people are categorized as the microenterprise in the areas of manufacturing and construction industries. In the areas of service industries, an enterprise with less than five employees is defined also as a microenterprise in Japan.
Both in Korea and Japan, there are organizations established specially for the micorenterprise. In Japan the primary organization in charge of supporting the microenterprise is the Society of Commerce and Industry, and in Korea it is the Korea Micro Business Development Center. Historically Japan began the supporting services in 1962 while Korea did in 1999.
The types of assistance and services for the microenterprise in the two countries share more similarity than differences. Types of assistance and services for the microenterprise both in Japan and in Korea include ones for management improvement, financial support, services for startup and innovation, and training and education. One of notable differences is found in the financial support. In Japan, Marukei program is the program specially designed for the microenterprise only. However, in Korea there is no counterpart of the Marukei program. In Korea the financial support for the microenterprise is relatively limited. The major financial service for the microenterprise in Korea is the credit guarantee service. In financial services for the microenterprise, Japan has more favorable services than Korea in term of interest rates and collaterals. Also difference is observed in the services for labor management. In Japanese support organizations include such service for the microenterprise. On the other hand, Korea Micro Enterprise Development Center does not provide service for the labor management.
Comparing the number of field offices, Japan's Society of Commerce and Industry has some 2800 field offices while Korea's Micro Business Development Center has only 60 ones. Consequently Japanese microenterprises have better accessibility to the assistance and services than their counterparts in Korea.
The results of this study indicate that Japan, although it is a more advanced country economically than Korea, provides much more extensive assistance and services for the microenterprise than Korea. Findings of this comparative study indicate that Korea has not allocated as adequate resource for the microenterprise as Japan has done. This appears to be an important fact and a lesson that Korea should be aware of, suggesting that Korea needs to expand the supporting system for the microenterprise and improve its assistance and services.
Specific suggestions for improvement of assistance and services for microenterprises in Korea include: First, the number of Korea Micro Enterprise Development Center should be increased to improve accessibility to assistance services. Second, financial assistance programs for the microenterpri...

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