Minister of SMEs and Startups Hong Jong-hak says that small and medium businesses should lead inter-Korean economic cooperation projects amid growing expectations for cross-border exchanges. 

The minister told Yonhap News on Wednesday that inter-Korean economic cooperation will be an opportunity for small and medium businesses.

Hong stressed the active role of small firms, pointing out that all of the South Korean businesses that formerly operated in the inter-Korean Gaesong Industrial Complex were small.

He said that his ministry is asking the government to ensure that small firms take charge of over 80 percent of future inter-Korean economic cooperation projects.

Using the example of forestry cooperation, Hong said that while major infrastructure contracts will likely go to large companies, it will be small businesses that handle the bulk of the labor, such as planting trees.