2026 Business Succession Support Law: Your Essential Guide to Securing Korea’s Manufacturing Future

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Lee Cheol-gyu, chair of the National Assembly’s Industry, Trade and SMEs Committee (People Power Party — Gangwon: Donghae, Taebaek, Samcheok, Jeongseon), has introduced legislation to establish a Special Act on Corporate Succession Support aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing crises from aging owners and a lack of successors sustain growth.

On April 28, he formally filed the bill titled the \”Special Act to Support Corporate Succession for Strengthening Business Continuity.\” The measure is designed to prevent interruptions in management and to protect companies’ technical capabilities and jobs.

Aging among domestic manufacturing SMEs has reached a serious level. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ 2025 Small and Medium Business Survey shows the share of manufacturing SME CEOs aged 60 or older jumped from 14.1% in 2012 to 44.8% in 2024. In other words, more than four in ten business owners are now over 60.

A growing problem is that firms with strong technology and market positions are being forced to close because they lack successors or because owners are reluctant to hand control to their children. When a company shuts down, accumulated know-how disappears along with skilled workers and jobs, inflicting damage on regional economies and the broader industrial ecosystem.

The bill’s core objective is to move beyond a family-centered succession model and establish a more practical framework. It would provide institutional support for a range of succession methods, including third-party mergers and acquisitions, for SMEs that have been operated for at least 10 years by managers aged 60 or older.

Under the proposal, the minister of SMEs and Startups would be required to develop and implement a Basic Plan to Promote Corporate Succession on a five-year cycle. The intent is to treat succession policy as a national mid- to long-term strategy rather than a short-term fix.

The state would systematically provide advisory services, information, training, and strategic planning to companies during succession. The bill also builds an integrated post-succession support system linking consulting, technical assistance, workforce programs, and financial aid to help ensure management stability and continued growth.

To tackle the shortage of successors, the bill strengthens efforts to identify and train potential successors and enhances matchmaking services that connect companies with candidates. The goal is to go beyond merely facilitating legal transfer and to actively cultivate new managers.

The bill includes financial measures, creating a dedicated account for corporate succession to authorize loans, guarantees, and grants. It would leverage policy finance institutions, such as the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, to reduce the financial burden during the succession process.

Lawmakers also addressed procedural obstacles cited by practitioners. By simplifying shareholder meeting procedures and introducing special M&A rules, the bill aims to lower administrative hurdles and increase the likelihood that transactions will close.

The proposal contains provisions to boost the succession market’s professionalism and credibility. It would establish a registration system for corporate succession advisors and intermediaries, allowing qualified institutions to participate in succession processes and improving market transparency and stability.

Lee Cheol-gyu said, \”More SMEs with strong technological capabilities are disappearing as owners age and successors are lacking. Corporate succession must be recognized not as an individual firm’s problem but as a matter of national industrial competitiveness and job preservation.\”

He added, \”This special law will shift the family-centered paradigm of corporate succession. We will create an environment where the technologies and jobs companies have built can continue reliably and lay the foundation for the sustainable growth of SMEs.\”

Industry observers are watching to see whether the bill will become an institutional turning point for generational change in SMEs. Because succession challenges can threaten the survival of regional economies—especially in manufacturing areas where aging is advancing rapidly—the proposal is expected to attract close attention during parliamentary debate.