The export voucher program, which provides subsidies in the form of vouchers for small and medium-sized enterprises to select services that match their export capabilities, has proven to be more effective for non-exporting firms with sales exceeding 2 billion won.
Jeon Gye-hyung, a professor at Korea National University of Education, presented research findings on September 29 at the '2026 3rd KOSI Symposium' held at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses (KBIZ) in Seoul. He stated, "The effectiveness of the export voucher policy for non-exporting firms is approximately 3.5 times higher compared to existing exporting firms," adding that the entry effect has significantly increased among non-exporting firms with sales over 2 billion won.
Professor Jeon analyzed the impact of the export voucher program on the export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises by utilizing data from beneficiary and non-beneficiary firms.
To enhance the effectiveness of export support, he emphasized the need for selecting beneficiaries based on individual company characteristics and suggested that future analysis results should evolve into a data-driven policy design system for selecting beneficiaries and program design.
He noted, "The difference in support amounts based on last year's export of $100,000 leads to differences in export amounts," and stressed the necessity of diverse data to identify and determine how to support companies with growth potential.
The government is implementing detailed policies to support the exports of small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' '2027 Budget Plan,' the existing uniform export voucher support system will be restructured into an export base voucher to eliminate export entry barriers and an export growth package for tailored support based on growth stages, with the budget increased to 313.7 billion won, more than double the previous amount.
Additionally, 164.2 billion won has been allocated for the 'Jump-Up Program,' aimed at nurturing promising companies into mid-sized enterprises, expanding support based on the growth stages of businesses.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the export voucher program has the highest number of cases of fraudulent subsidy claims among the support projects of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, necessitating measures to address this issue.
According to data submitted by Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon Hyang-yeop, the top three projects with the highest number of detected fraudulent claims were all voucher programs. The export voucher program recorded 25 cases of fraudulent claims from 2020 to 2025, amounting to 810 million won. Major types of fraud included 'misuse of funds,' 'violations of laws and guidelines,' and 'false results and reports.' Following the export voucher, the non-face-to-face service voucher (16 cases, 570 million won) and the small and medium-sized enterprise innovation voucher (11 cases, 170 million won) were next.
Kwon Hyang-yeop stated, "The recurring nature of fraudulent subsidy claims each year indicates insufficient preventive measures," urging that projects with frequent fraud should be examined first, and tailored prevention strategies should be developed for each project and type.
Jeon Gye-hyung, a professor at Korea National University of Education, presented research findings on September 29 at the '2026 3rd KOSI Symposium' held at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses (KBIZ) in Seoul. He stated, "The effectiveness of the export voucher policy for non-exporting firms is approximately 3.5 times higher compared to existing exporting firms," adding that the entry effect has significantly increased among non-exporting firms with sales over 2 billion won.
Professor Jeon analyzed the impact of the export voucher program on the export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises by utilizing data from beneficiary and non-beneficiary firms.
To enhance the effectiveness of export support, he emphasized the need for selecting beneficiaries based on individual company characteristics and suggested that future analysis results should evolve into a data-driven policy design system for selecting beneficiaries and program design.
He noted, "The difference in support amounts based on last year's export of $100,000 leads to differences in export amounts," and stressed the necessity of diverse data to identify and determine how to support companies with growth potential.
The government is implementing detailed policies to support the exports of small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' '2027 Budget Plan,' the existing uniform export voucher support system will be restructured into an export base voucher to eliminate export entry barriers and an export growth package for tailored support based on growth stages, with the budget increased to 313.7 billion won, more than double the previous amount.
Additionally, 164.2 billion won has been allocated for the 'Jump-Up Program,' aimed at nurturing promising companies into mid-sized enterprises, expanding support based on the growth stages of businesses.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the export voucher program has the highest number of cases of fraudulent subsidy claims among the support projects of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, necessitating measures to address this issue.
According to data submitted by Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon Hyang-yeop, the top three projects with the highest number of detected fraudulent claims were all voucher programs. The export voucher program recorded 25 cases of fraudulent claims from 2020 to 2025, amounting to 810 million won. Major types of fraud included 'misuse of funds,' 'violations of laws and guidelines,' and 'false results and reports.' Following the export voucher, the non-face-to-face service voucher (16 cases, 570 million won) and the small and medium-sized enterprise innovation voucher (11 cases, 170 million won) were next.
Kwon Hyang-yeop stated, "The recurring nature of fraudulent subsidy claims each year indicates insufficient preventive measures," urging that projects with frequent fraud should be examined first, and tailored prevention strategies should be developed for each project and type.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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