Korean-born Pellerin accents SME support
Fleur Pellerin, center, French minister for small and medium-sized enterprises, innovation and the digital economy, poses with Kim Ki-mun, left, head of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses and David-Pierre Jalicon, chairman of the French-Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, after signing a strategic alliance agreement at the Novotel Ambassador Hotel in Southern Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap
By Chung Min-uck
Fleur Pellerin, French minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Innovation and the Digital Economy, Monday called for a stronger government commitment toward supporting SMEs to enable sustainable economic growth.
“It is crucial that we find ways to support SMEs because they constitute the backbone of our economies,” said the minister at a forum in Seoul. “But we know that to strengthen SMEs and help them acquire the means to develop, a strong commitment by the government is crucial.”
She delivered a key note speech at the forum organized by the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) in Novotel Ambassador Hotel, Southern Seoul.
Born in 1973 in Seoul, Pellerin was adopted by French parents at the age of six months. She was a member of the presidential campaign team for the incumbent French President François Hollande in 2012 in charge of the “Society and Digital Economy” pole.
“It is SMEs that need assistance the most when they wish to expand and develop their activity, even more so internationally,” she said. “Most often, it is these companies that foster the innovations that transform our economy and our society. It is also these companies that hold the most potential for job creation.”
The Korean-French minister further discussed major reforms that France is currently undertaking to boost SMEs there.
She said that under the new policies, small and medium businesses will receive a 30 percent tax rebate for R&D expenses up to the value of 100 million euros, and five percent after that. Also, all citizens in France will be given access to high speed internet through fiber-optic broadband in the next ten years.
“In areas such as innovation and the digital field, Korea has been one of the most successful countries in the world,” said Pellerin. “The French government has pledged to make France the most dynamic and favorable business environment it can be…I am convinced that this will result in closer ties with dynamic areas such as Korea.”
Touching on Franco-Korea economic relationship, the French minister took a rosy view of increase in the bilateral trade volume.
Noting that Germany is currently South Korea’s largest trading partner among the 27 European Union members, she said “my goal is to make France the first economic partner of Korea in Europe, and for us to considerably increase our bilateral trade.” “I will act tirelessly to strengthen the ties between France and Korea, a country with which I have a special connection.”
The minister is on a five-day trip to Seoul beginning Saturday, exchanging views with officials and leaders of several conglomerates here to relay to them the attractiveness of the French economy.
On Monday, after the FKCCI luncheon, she dropped by the headquarters of SK telecom, South Korea’s top telecom operator, requesting the company to participate in the French government’s communication service plan.
Pellerin, in a meeting with SK Telecom CEO Ha Sung-min, discussed her government’s plan to launch an optical communications network program worth 20 billion euro (about 29 trillion won).