This document explains the publication of the "SME M&A Market Reform Plan" formulated by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency to reform the SME M&A market.
While SME management faces strong recognition of successor absence due to aging management as a management challenge, the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency has promoted business succession and M&A initiatives. Although SME M&A cases have increased significantly due to rising business succession needs, anxiety about M&A remains particularly in rural areas and relatively small-scale SMEs, necessitating anxiety resolution and understanding enhancement for M&A penetration and realization across all SMEs.
As business environmental changes including serious labor shortages and the need to secure wage increase resources intensify, the importance of promoting M&A not merely as an option for business succession but as a strategic means for SME growth realization has further increased. Additionally, with rapid SME M&A market expansion and increasing M&A support organizations, voices indicate insufficient support quality and problematic acquirer existence.
While the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency has promoted support organization quality and ethical improvement and M&A practical rule penetration through initiatives such as the "SME M&A Guidelines" and "M&A Support Organization Registration System," further measures are required. Considering these challenges, the "Study Group for SME M&A Market Reform" was established in April 2025 to examine measures each stakeholder should implement and policies to promote them.
The published "SME M&A Market Reform Plan" reviews previous initiatives for SME M&A popularization and promotion while introducing current business succession and M&A situations. It then compiles future policy directions for SME M&A market reform as: (1) measures for M&A transferors, (2) measures for the SME M&A market, and (3) measures for M&A acquirers. Related materials include overview version (720KB) and full version (8,500KB) PDF files.
The article is evaluated as presenting comprehensive policy directions for promoting healthy SME M&A market development toward sustainable SME growth and business succession problem resolution.