South Korea, Belgium Sign SME Cooperation MOU

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on ‘SME and Startup Cooperation’ with the Belgian Ministry of SMEs and the Self-employed in Brussels, Belgium, on June 10 (local time).

This MOU is the first cooperation document signed between the two countries in the SME sector since the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Belgium. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups expects this cooperation to expand the foundation for South Korean SMEs and venture companies to enter Europe and to strengthen the connection between the startup ecosystems of the two countries.

Belgium is considered a gateway to the European market, located in the geographical center of Western Europe. It is evaluated as a country with excellent startup infrastructure and a corporate-friendly business environment, ranking 23rd globally in startup ecosystems and 12th in startup support functions in the 2026 evaluation by the startup specialized agency StartupBlink.

In particular, to overcome its small domestic market, Belgium has developed strong small enterprises in the deep tech sector that target the global market from the early stages of business. Because of this, the necessity of utilizing it as an outpost and strategic hub for South Korean SMEs and venture companies to advance into Europe has been continuously raised.

This MOU contains specific cooperation measures, including strengthening SME and startup support through bilateral policy dialogue, exchanging professional personnel, technological cooperation, and promoting business matching projects.

Following the signing of the MOU, First Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups Noh Yong-seok held a bilateral meeting with Belgian Minister of SMEs and the Self-employed Eléonore Simonet to discuss ways to expand policy exchanges between the two countries. Both sides shared the understanding of the need for startup cooperation that connects Belgium’s business resources with South Korea’s excellent technological capabilities, and explored measures to expand exchanges.

Vice Minister Noh sought to expand the foundation of bilateral cooperation by inviting Belgian government officials and startups to the global startup event ‘COMEUP 2026’, which will be held in South Korea in December.

In addition, he introduced the ‘Startup for All’ project, which the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has been promoting since this year, and the global startup collaboration space ‘SVC (Startup Venture Campus) Seoul’, which opened in May, proposing an expansion of startup policy exchanges between the two nations.

On the same day, Vice Minister Noh also attended a ‘Meeting with Companies Operating in Belgium’ to review trends in European Union (EU) trade regulations and listen to the difficulties of companies operating locally. The meeting was arranged to review logistics disruptions caused by recent situations in the Middle East and difficulties in the process of entering overseas markets, and to discuss response measures.

First Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok said, “Using the establishment of this partnership with the Belgian federal government as an opportunity, we will operate a practical and dynamic cooperation system that supports the European expansion of our SMEs and venture companies.”