Ministry of SMEs and Startups Recruiting Award Candidates for Outstanding Companies in Supply Price Escalation Clauses

10 Companies, Including Those with Outstanding Supply Price Adjustment Records, to Be Recognized with Awards

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is recruiting candidates for awards to recognize outstanding companies that have proactively implemented the supply price escalation clause system and shared in the burden of rising raw material and energy costs.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 23rd that it will be accepting applications for candidates for the “2026 Outstanding Companies in Supply Price Escalation Clauses” award from August 24 to October 8, 2026.

The award is open to companies that have entered into supply price escalation agreements within contracting relationships under the Win-Win Cooperation Act and have contributed to establishing the system by demonstrating performance in implementing such agreements and promoting its adoption. The evaluation criteria for agreement performance include: ▲ ratio of escalation contracts concluded ▲ number of subcontractors with escalation agreements ▲ records of supply price adjustments, among other factors.

In situations where the price of raw materials has surged due to the Middle East conflict, companies that have proactively raised the supply price for subcontractors, paid earlier, or provided liquidity support will be given preferential consideration during the award review. An example is principal contractors in the plastics sector who participated in win-win cooperation agreements in April of this year.

The total scale of the award is 10 citations presented by the Minister of SMEs and Startups. Awarded companies will receive tangible incentives.

Key incentives include: ▲ exemption from regular and ad-hoc investigations on subcontracting arrangements for one or two years starting 2027 ▲ two extra points in the 2026 fair trade agreement (subcontracting sector) compliance evaluation ▲ a reduction of two points in penalty points under the Win-Win Cooperation Act and a reduction in administrative fines by up to 50%.

For more information, companies may refer to the official announcement posted on the supply price escalation clause system's website or contact the Foundation for Large, Small & Medium Business and Agriculture & Fisheries Cooperation for inquiries. Companies wishing to apply should fill out the award application and achievement forms and submit them via email.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will review documents submitted by applying companies and, through a public achievements evaluation committee, finalize the award candidates. The Minister's citations will be presented at the “2026 Win-Win Growth Week Commemoration Ceremony” scheduled for November.

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