South Korea will introduce a five-year grace period allowing mid-tier companies to retain their status and benefits even after they grow large enough to qualify as large corporations. The measure aims to stop firms from avoiding growth because support shrinks and regulations multiply as they get bigger.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan announced the Third Basic Plan for Mid-Tier Enterprise Growth Promotion (2026-2030) on the 1st. The plan centers on restoring the growth ladder from small to mid-tier to large enterprises and nurturing anchor-type mid-tier companies with proprietary technology.
Under the grace period, mid-tier companies that meet the criteria for large corporations will keep their mid-tier status for the first five years. The government concluded that firms reaching large-corporation thresholds face shrinking support and a flood of rules, including bans on cross-shareholding, prompting side effects such as halting growth or reverting to small-business status. The ministry will push to revise the Mid-Tier Enterprise Act to implement the change.
Support will also be strengthened by growth stage. For prospective mid-tier firms, the ministry will link research and development results from small businesses to its reliability and mass-production assessments and follow-up commercialization. Entry-level mid-tier firms will receive expanded financing, R&D and facility support. Leading mid-tier firms will get information on large overseas project tenders, matching with partner companies, bid preparation and order guarantees.
To cultivate anchor-type mid-tier companies, the government will launch a 1 trillion won ($710 million) Decacorn Project running from next year through 2035. Under the program, mid-tier firms will work with universities and research institutes to secure 10 frontier technologies at the system level, going beyond individual materials and components.
The government will also promote regional mid-tier companies. Linked to the "5 poles, 3 special zones" growth engine framework, it will back more than 13.7 trillion won ($9.7 billion) in investment in regional mid-tier firms and provide policy financing, workforce and infrastructure support. Artificial intelligence transition was presented as another key task. By 2030, the government will support AI adoption at about 350 companies, or 50% of mid-tier manufacturing prime contractors.
"Mid-tier enterprises are the backbone of our economy, forming the critical link in the value chain between large and small businesses," Kim said. "Since corporate growth is growth for the entire national economy, the government will lay down a growth ladder so that mid-tier companies can grow into anchor firms with proprietary technology."
Separately, the ministry selected 10 new World Class Plus companies this year. They are Komico, Wonik Holdings, Samjin Pharmaceutical, Natural Way, Humedix, Saehan Industries, HT Robotics, KaiM, Hanjung NCS and Jinhap. The companies will receive full-cycle support covering R&D, financing, exports, consulting, workforce and legal services, with up to 5 billion won ($3.6 million) per company over four years.
