President Yoon Seok-yul attended the Small and Medium-sized Businessmen’s Convention on the lawn in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office on the evening of the 23rd. This is the second consecutive year that the event has been held on the grounds of the presidential office, following the inauguration of the Yoon administration in May last year, and this year’s event was attended by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and other group leaders, adding to the sense of mutual benefit. In particular, President Yoon interacted with about 500 entrepreneurs over chicken and beer.
President Yoon Seok-yeol salutes the national flag at the 2023 Korea SMEs Congress held at the lawn in front of the presidential office building in Yongsan, Seoul스포츠토토, on March 23. /Newsis
According to the presidential office, most of the top 10 group leaders attended the event, including Lee, SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin.
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun talks to attendees at the ‘2023 Korea SME Leaders’ Convention’ at the lawn of the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on March 23./Yonhap
In particular, many MZ generation SMEs in their 30s and 40s attended the event. Accordingly, President Yoon chose chimack as the main menu for the event to ensure a casual communication. At last year’s event in May, the dinner was prepared as a buffet, but this year’s event was more focused on ‘communication’. At the head table with Yoon were businessmen in their 30s and 40s.
LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo talks to attendees at the 2023 Korea Small and Medium Businessmen’s Convention at the lawn in front of the presidential office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on Nov. 23./News
The tables were evenly distributed among ministers, presidential staff, and representatives of small, medium, and large businesses. “As President Yoon emphasized a one-team approach between the government and SMEs, there was a lot of casual conversation at the dinner, sharing pain points and grievances,” said an official from the presidential office.
The performance emphasizing the ‘one team’ was followed by a celebratory performance. The choir Harmonize sang “We” from the singing ceremony and “Rocinante” from the transfer. Both songs have lyrics that emphasize the idea of working together.
Last year, President Yoon also chatted with businessmen as he walked around tables set up on the lawn in a garden party format.